I love teaching. I wouldn't take a job that didn't include it. Paul Bloom More Quotes by Paul Bloom More Quotes From Paul Bloom I am never going to write about dogs again. You can write about Islam, you can write about sexuality, but no, not dogs. Paul Bloom islam dog writing I'm not a pacifist. I think the suffering of innocent people can be a catalyst for moral action. But empathy puts too much weight on the scale in favor of war. Empathy can really lead to violence. Paul Bloom war people thinking I think Americans are always going to care more about Americans than about Mexicans. Paul Bloom care thinking I think we're going to care more about Americans than Africans. I don't think that's ever going to go away, and I don't think it's ever going to go away that people care more about their families than strangers, and their communities over other communities. But I think it would transform the world in such a good way if we could just acknowledge, at least intellectually, that an African life and an American life are the same. Paul Bloom community people thinking I have huge admiration for people who think like the effective altruist, who try to rationally think about how they can change the world for the better, and who try not to be swayed by irrational considerations, such as skin color or whether or not someone lives in the same neighborhood. Paul Bloom skin-color people thinking In my own life, I do not live like an effective altruist. An effective altruist would really disapprove of my life. I don't give enough to charity and I still have both my kidneys. Paul Bloom kidneys charity giving Even the charities I give to are related to things that touch my life, like the Special Olympics. I'm not fully rational; I'm swayed by my biases and my emotions. Paul Bloom charity special giving I think if we could turn the dial a bit, and try to take what the philosopher Henry Sidgwick called "the point of view of the universe", and look from above, and realize that we are not special, none of us are, I think it would just cause a transformation. Paul Bloom special views thinking Every president, Democratic or Republican, simply works on the supposition that it's better to keep jobs in America than let them go to Mexico. Paul Bloom president jobs america You might argue on utilitarian grounds that the best way for the world to work is for everybody to take care of themselves first. And people have made that argument. But I just think we would be so much better off if we could care for distant others even a little bit more. Paul Bloom would-be people thinking Something as important and central and encompassing as empathy can't be all bad. I think empathy plays a role in intimate relationships, where you might want your partner not just to care about you or understand you but to feel what you feel. Paul Bloom intimate-relationships play thinking I think empathy is really important for pleasure. Paul Bloom empathy important thinking I think empathy can serve as a moral spark, motivating us to do good things. But anything can be a moral spark. Paul Bloom sparks empathy thinking Some people think that without that spark of empathy we would do nothing, but that's just flat-out wrong. You could feel compassion for somebody without the spark of empathy. Paul Bloom compassion people thinking I draw a lot from Buddhism, which focuses on compassion and kindness, loving kindness, as they call it, but rejects empathy because it's a poor moral guide. And I think there's a lot of evidence suggesting that they're right. Paul Bloom buddhism kindness thinking When you start writing things to try to persuade someone who's not already part of your guild or your profession that something is interesting, it forces you to ask yourself, "Well, why is this interesting?" Paul Bloom writing trying interesting When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. When Obama wanted to bomb Syria, he drew our attention to the victims of chemical warfare. And in both of the Iraq wars, politicians said, "Look at the horrific things that are happening." I'm not a pacifist. I think the suffering of innocent people can be a catalyst for moral action. But empathy puts too much weight on the scale in favor of war. Empathy can really lead to violence. Paul Bloom war people thinking On many issues, empathy can pull us in the wrong direction. The outrage that comes from adopting the perspective of a victim can drive an appetite for retribution. Paul Bloom direction drive empathy perspective Some scholars argue that although the brain might contain neural subsystems, or modules, specialized for tasks like recognizing faces and understanding language, it also contains a part that constitutes a person, a self: the chief executive of all the subsystems. Paul Bloom language understanding self brain Some of the natural world is appealing, some of it is terrifying, and some of it grosses us out. Modern people don't want to be dropped naked into a swamp. We want to tour Yosemite with our water bottles and G.P.S. devices. The natural world is a source of happiness and fulfillment, but only when prescribed in the right doses. Paul Bloom happiness water people world
