If our concern is driven by thoughts of the suffering of specific individuals, then it sets up a perverse situation in which the suffering of one can matter more than the suffering of a thousand.

— Paul Bloom, Against Empathy

Past the asceticism of discipline for the sake of excellence is the discipline of going eyeball to eyeball with reality, letting our fantasies about ourselves die a quiet death.

— Zena Hitz, Lost in Thought

The professional kiss of death for an expert is to act like one.

— Andy Hunt, Pragmatic Thinking and Learning

What’s left unsaid is as much a part of any narrative as what’s included.

— Ali Almossawi and Alejandro Giraldo, An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language

…nothing prevents us of course from remaining optimistic, but this is more an act of faith than having any basis in reason.

— Luc Ferry, A Brief History of Thought