the artist is the figure who, above all others, imposes values without discussion, opens up perspectives and invents worlds without needing to demonstrate the legitimacy of his propositions, still less to prove them by a refutation of those works which preceded his own. Like the aristocracy, the artist commands without arguing with anyone or anything

— Luc Ferry, A Brief History of Thought

Though the role of theistic morality in the problems besetting the Islamic world is inescapable, many Western intellectuals—who would be appalled if the repression, misogyny, homophobia, and political violence that are common in the Islamic world were found in their own societies even diluted a hundredfold—have become strange apologists when these practices are carried out in the name of Islam.

— Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now

Not giving a fuck does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different.

— Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

…we seem unaware of this backward fitting, much like tailors who take great pride in delivering the perfectly fitting suit—but do so by surgically altering the limbs of their customers. For instance, few realize that we are changing the brains of schoolchildren through medication in order to make them adjust to the curriculum, rather than the reverse.

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes

…progress in science is not a simple line leading to the truth. It is more progress away from less adequate conceptions of, and interactions with, the world…

— Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions