Being a Good Person: A Dialectical Trap

  Imagine that you get invited to a birthday party where you don’t know anyone. Nevertheless, the birthday girl insists you go. At a certain point in the conversation, she tells you “It doesn’t matter that you don’t know anyone, I’ll introduce you to my friend, George, he’s a really good person. You’ll definitely get along.”  Actually, there’s nothing strange or fictitious about this kind of situation. Because, often, when you meet other people, you get told by others in advance what they’re like. This information helps you to contextualize the moment when you meet them for the first time…