This is the last weekly TST Column. Starting May 1, the column moves to a monthly rhythm. I’ve kept the weekly pace up for several months, and I’m grateful for what it has produced, but it has also been exhausting. Writing a thoughtful column every week is one thing. Having the time to fully support it, share it, and let it live is another. More than that, the weekly pace has begun to pull time and energy away from the rest of my 30-series books, and those books matter deeply to me. They are the larger home for many of the ideas I most want to finish and share. So this change is not about doing less. It is about making each column stronger, while creating more room for the deeper work ahead. Thank you for being here with me.

Over the coming months, I’ll publish one more column in the Understanding Philosophy series, then begin the Understanding Ethics series. This column is the first in that new ethics arc, moved to the front because it felt timely. Trump’s war with Iran and his feud with Pope Leo XIV over war, peace, and Just War Theory suddenly made an old ethical question feel very current. Reuters covered the dispute in mid-April, and Vatican-linked coverage, along with the U.S. bishops, addressed the Just War issue directly. That also makes this a fitting follow-up to our recent columns on truth, belief, and confidence, because before we judge war, we first have to judge the claims, evidence, and authorities surrounding it

–Michael Alan Prestwood

6 Research Tidbits

Wisdom Builder Crossroads

The research, stories, and questions that inform this issue.

1 Story »

Augustine of Hippo

born 354

Lived from 354 to 430 CE, aged about 76.

Life is full of hard choices. In situational ethics, clear-cut right and wrong tend to give way to reducing harm or choosing the lesser of two evils.

2 Quote »

“In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary.”

Thomas Aquinas
circa 1265

Situational ethics, like Just War Theory, can be brought down to your life. When you cannot turn the other cheek, strive for a response that is proportionate and never exceeds the harm done.

3 Science »

Why do we overreact and escalate?

When emotion rises, pause long enough to ask whether your response fits the situation and helps make things better.

4Philosophy »

How does TST Ethics handle the trolley problem?

When an ethical problem feels impossible, slow down, weigh options intent and use the good intent-good result formula to choose the option that causes less harm to you first, and then to others.

5Critical Thinking »

How do you prevent yourself from overreacting?

During conflict, shift from justifying your intent to asking what result you actually want.

6History!

What is the history of ethical war?

The history of war ethics shows that across time and cultures, people have tried to define when war is justified and how it should be restrained.

Take the deep dive.

Linked Article

Philosophy

Article

1 Goal: Flourish (TST Ethics)

TST Ethics

Flourishing requires calibration. TST Ethics integrates intent, consequence, proportionality, and systemic impact within a two-layer reality. It respects law, reduces harm, and refines responsibility as awareness grows. Personal morality and group ethics are not separate domains — they are scaled expressions of fairness lived within real constraints.

That’s the whole rhythm!

First Wed of the month – 3PM:

Next set drops here.

Next day, Thu – 3PM PST:

WWB Research Emailed.

TST Column posted on Substack: