Quotessence
Home / Authors / Cass Sunstein
Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein Quotes

Legal Scholar

Filter quotes by topic

AllThinkingWarPeopleStarsIfsHumansLawWellsBelievePolicy

Famous Cass Sunstein Quotes

“Because those who hold conspiracy theories typically suffer from a crippled epistemology, in accordance with which it is rational to hold such theories, the best response consists in cognitive infiltration of extremist groups. Various policy dilemmas, such as the question whether it is better for government to rebut conspiracy theories or to ignore them, are explored in this light.”

LightGovernmentSufferingGroupsPolicyTheoryResponseVariousRationalConspiracyDilemmaExtremistCognitiveEpistemologyConspiracy TheoryCrippledInfiltrationExtremist Groups
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“A well-functioning democracy has a culture of free speech, not simply legal protection of free speech. It encourages independence of mind. It imparts a willingness to challenge prevailing opinion through both words and deeds. Equally important, it encourages a certain set of attitudes in listeners, one that gives a respectful hearing to those who do not embrace the conventional wisdom. In a culture of free speech, the attitude of listeners is no less important than that of speakers.”

GivingMindWellsImportantCertainCultureChallengesAttitudeOpinionDemocracySpeechIndependenceEmbraceDeedsHearingProtectionWillingnessSpeakersFree SpeechConventionalListenersRespectfulImpartPrevailingDemocracies HaveConventional Wisdom
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“Those subject to capital punishment are real human beings, with their own backgrounds and narratives. By contrast, those whose lives are or might be saved by virtue of capital punishment are mere 'statistical people.' They are both nameless and faceless, and their deaths are far less likely to be considered in moral deliberations.”

PeopleHumansRealMightHuman BeingsMoralVirtueSubjectsMereSavedPunishmentBackgroundsNarrativeContrastNamelessCapital PunishmentDeliberationReal HumanFaceless
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“On reflection, some things do super well because they hit with the time. Some things do super well because they are able to activate a kind of echo chamber or bandwagon or cascade - they didn't particularly hit with the time. Some things are just too astonishingly good to not hit the top. Those three explanations, with respect to the Star Wars phenomenon, seem to me all to pass the plausibility test, and to explore them, with respect to Star Wars, I think casts light not just on the saga of our time, but also on everything about our culture.”

ThinkingWellsKindWarLightSeemsAbleCultureThreeStarsReflectionTestsCastsExplanationOur TimePhenomenonEchoesChamberSagaActivateCascadeBandwagon
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“The sky is always falling or the sky is always bright. In some ways, this is really morning in America and we don't see it. People are living longer, the economy is doing pretty well. On the other hand, there are some ways of thinking in the current situation that make it look not so good, including our Star Wars prequels - like legislature, meaning they're talking a lot, not doing a lot.”

PeopleThinkingWayWellsLooksWarHandsAmericaFallStarsTalkingSituationMorningEconomySkyIncludingCurrentsWay Of ThinkingLegislatureCurrent Situation
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“So, you could often say things are terrible and that accounts for what happened, or things are really bright, and that accounts for what happened. Often, the real explanation for what happened is much more subtle and interesting and involves maybe small shocks or what a couple people did on a Wednesday morning that changed the arc of history.”

PeopleRealInterestingMorningHappenedChangedCoupleTerribleAccountsExplanationShockSubtleArcsWednesdayWednesday Morning
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“I'm also a big Bob Dylan fan. The songs on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - which is one of his best early albums - they grow out of some of his difficulties with Suze Rotolo, and "Hard Rain," people say it had to do with the Cuban missile crisis - probably not. He denied it. I believe him, but it certainly had to do with the time.”

PeopleBelieveHardBigsSongI BelieveGrowsFansRainDifficultyCrisisAlbumsDeniedBobDylanMissilesCubanCuban Missile Crisis
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“And so it's no surprise that people who object to the death penalty on pure moral grounds also think it has no deterrent effect, and people who like the death penalty on grounds of retribution tend to think it has deterrent effects. They like that, and they believe that. I think with climate change we're seeing very much the same thing where those who deny climate change, they don't like that, and they don't believe it.”

PeopleThinkingBelieveMoralSeeingEffectsObjectsPureSurpriseClimateDon't BelieveClimate ChangeDenyPenaltiesDeath PenaltyRetributionDeterrent
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“My friend jewelry designer Courtney Crangi has been obsessed with Star Wars all her life and has seen the movies 150 times. When we first started talking about it, I was amazed that her knowledge made mine - which was even then pretty impressive - seem pathetic. And I think there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the leader of the rebellion is Princess Leia. American theatergoers had never seen a princess like that. She's not a delicate flower, she's not passive, she's often the only one who has a clue.”

ThinkingWarReasonLeaderFlowerCoupleObsessedDesignerRebellionDelicatePrincessPassiveAmazedClueImpressivePatheticJewelry
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image

“It's fair to say that there's something retrograde about putting the leader of Star Wars rebellion in the position of "slave in a bikini." There's no question that that's a fair point. But, it is true, and it's kind of remarkable, that at this point in our history, the slave girl, for a time in the bikini, is the one who chokes her captor with her bare hands and using the chain with which he bound her. That's powerful stuff. That's more retributive feminism than I think teenaged boys had ever seen.”

ThinkingKindWarGirlPowerfulLeaderBoysFeminismSlaveRemarkableRebellionChoke
Author:Cass Sunstein
Create image