How to be Good?

What does it mean to be a good person according to a member of the First Nations?
We ask Melanie Goodchild, Moose Clan, to share her opinion on being good according to Indigenous teachings.
Melanie is Anishinaabe (Ojibway or Chippewa) from Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and Ketegaunseebee First Nations in northern Ontario, Canada. She is a senior indigenous research fellow and associate at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Currently studying for her PhD in social and ecological sustainability, Melanie is also the founder of the Turtle Island Institute, an Indigenous social innovation think & do tank - a teaching lodge – that is working to enable transformative change.

In her work, Melanie weaves together her unique perspectives of Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) with systems thinking/complexity theory and social innovation to address society’s most intractable problems. She believes in the teaching methods of her ancestors, in “coming to know” on the land, and so she supports initiatives that seek to connect people to ceremony, story, art, language and the land.

Melanie is an incredible person with such a wealth of knowledge, coupled with a real depth of kindness and compassion. She starts this interview by introducing herself in Anishinaabemowin – the language of her ancestors – so you can hear more about where she’s from in her own words.
If, after listening, you'd like to learn more about Melanie Goodchild, please visit Turtle Island Institute and you can also read her recent paper on Relational Systems Thinking.

This is a quick thank you and goodbye as we wrap up the first season of this podcast with 13 nuggets of wisdom; a piece of advice from each one of our guests. What does it mean to be a good person? - let's see what each of our guests thought.
We’ll be back early 2023 with our next season, but for now this short episode is dedicated to everyone who has listened and supported this podcast since its launch in 2020. THANK YOU!
If you'd like to support this podcast as we develop the next season, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/exploregoodness - we appreciate you listening and supporting each episode. And if you're interested in sponsoring Season 2, please email [email protected].
Thank you!

What does it mean to be good according to a Moral Philosopher?
In this episode, I talk with Professor of Moral Philosophy, Jeff McMahan.
Jeff McMahan is Sekyra and White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He has written extensively about issues concerning harming, killing, and saving, such as war, abortion, euthanasia and the evaluation of death. He is also the co-editor of the Journal of Controversial Ideas.

In this conversation, Jeff introduces us to the plurality that exists when it comes to being good according to moral philosophy, as well as sharing his more personal views about moral goodness.

This is a great interview for the times we're living in as we cover what it means to act morally in times of conflict and uncertainty, and most importantly how we engage and remain morally good when talking with those we disagree with.
If you'd like to support this podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/exploregoodness - we appreciate you listening and supporting each episode. Thank you!

For this Bitesize Episode*, we’re taking some advice from Daoist Monk Yun Rou that “there's always a door number 3 to things”.

Whenever we find ourselves in a challenging situation or even a conflict of some kind, Monk Yun Rou suggests we look for Door #3 – a third option that is available to us when we feel limited in our choices.
This episode is all about how considering the variety of options available to us in any given moment gives us a greater sense of freedom and helps us get more creative in how we can manage and manoeuvre in any circumstance.

Enjoy!
If you'd like to support this podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/exploregoodness - we appreciate you listening and supporting each episode.
Thank you!
*In Bitesize Episodes, we take a few minutes to focus on a theme, topic, or piece of advice related to “How to be Good” that’s come up in our interviews. We'll talk about how we can put advice from our interviews to practical use in our daily life

What does it mean to be a good person according to a Daoist Monk?
We ask Daoist Monk Yun Rou (his name means Soft Cloud) to share his opinions on being good according to the view of Daoism.
Daoism - also known as Taoism - originated in China close to 2,000 years ago, and as Monk Yun Rou describes, it centres on living in harmony with nature, and everything in existence.
Ordained as a Monk at the Chun Yang (Pure Yang) Daoist Temple in Guangzhou, China, Yun Rou is a Daoist Monk, Author and Tai Chi Master. His award-winning books bridge fiction, spirituality, philosophy, and history, and his work has appeared across the globe, including in publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair and The Wall Street Journal.
This conversation goes into beautiful depth about what it means to be a Daoist – with all its layers – while staying connected to the simplicity that is always at the heart of this podcast.
If after listening to that you’d like to learn more about Monk Yun Rou, you can visit www.monkyunrou.com.
And if you'd like to support this podcast, please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/exploregoodness - we appreciate you listening and supporting each episode. Thank you!