Dave in Thailand says:

Interesting discussion, great podcast.

Anger: I think your point about not over repressing anger is a good one; sometimes it might be the proper response to situation. But I do think the modern pop psychology idea that you shouldn’t control your emotions, but rather let them run their course since they’re “natural, “can be a bit of a copout. Sometimes emotions like anger or not proper for the situation, and self-knowledge and reflection ought to help us control or possibly redirect them.

Definitions: good point that being anal about these could pretty much put a stop to discussing anything. But let’s not throw out definitions all together. That would be just silly. Pretty much every day one sees arguments and misunderstandings that could’ve been avoided if only the speakers had agreed to define the terms first. How many times have you been discussing something with someone only to realize he was talking at cross purposes? Also, defining things clearly, at least for yourself, can help clean up messy, wishy-washy thinking.

Anyway, thanks so much for the podcast. I really enjoyed it! It was my introduction to your podcast, and now I’m going to go back and listen to some back episodes.