Aretai – Page 5 – Character & AIs

How should the law treat men and women in the workplace?

Apr 17, 2026 at 12:09 pm EDT

by

Ryan Olson

in

/ Reading time:

1–2 minutes

Given our emphasis on individuals’ and families’ supporting themselves through ties to the paid workforce, employment law properly provides critical safeguards to American workers. Indeed, much of America’s dynamism and economic success is drawn from its distinctive emphasis on work, including access to workplace benefits. That means it’s critical to get this issue right.

In National Affairs, Erika Bachiochi of Arizona State University and Ivana Greco, an attorney, examine the current state of employment law and the new realities of women and men in the workplace.

Friday review

Apr 17, 2026 at 6:57 am EDT

by

Ryan Olson

in

Review

/ Reading time:

1–2 minutes

Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma podcasting: “’We’ve developed a sixth sense,’ Ma said, after the show. ‘We’re not looking at one another, but we know exactly when to do something.’ ‘You have a very expressive back,’ Ax said.”
The film Nuremberg: “The movie doesn’t show how the specially designed space at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice really looked on November 29: overhead lights were shone on the defendants so the entire courtroom could see them taking in the reality of their crimes. Madeleine Jacob, who covered the trial for the French newspaper Franc-Tireur, wrote: ‘I’ll never forget their faces broken by the horror when they found themselves suddenly face to face with the incriminating evidence: a documentary film on the concentration camps, presented in court this afternoon.’”
Sports gambling increased to $160 billion last year, up from $4.9 billion in 2017.
Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch, as a girl: “‘I loved things that made me feel small. I loved looking at the night sky, oftentimes between the pine-tree branches. Or, I love the ocean. North Carolina also has mountains…I just love the vastness of all those things.’”
Brene Brown in the anti-empathy age.

Formation and flourishing

Apr 8, 2026 at 1:16 pm EDT

by

Ryan Olson

in

Character

/ Reading time:

1–2 minutes

The aim of human flourishing can be assessed in educational institutions with the Human Flourishing Measure. Educational institutions could more effectively promote human flourishing, especially the formation of character and the virtues, with concepts that correspond to the five domains of human flourishing and deepen their understanding and practice. These concepts are moral sources and culture (for the domain of happiness and life satisfaction), anthropology (for the domain of physical and mental health), agency and motivation (meaning and purpose), performance and context (character and virtue), and love and pedagogy (close social relationship). In view of the diversity of educational settings in the UK and USA, each concept is elaborated in thick and thin versions to guide evaluation and implementation.

The full paper is here.