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Robert Wright

Robert Wright Quotes

Journalist

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Famous Robert Wright Quotes

“Maybe the growth of "God" signifies the existence of God. That is: if history naturally pushes people toward moral improvement, toward moral growth, and their God, as they conceive their God, grows accordingly, becoming morally richer, then maybe this growth is evidence of some higher purpose, and maybe - conceivably - the source of that purpose is worthy of the name divinity.”

PeopleIfsPurposeNamesGrowsGrowthExistenceMoralSourceBecomingHigherEvidenceWorthyImprovementDivinityExistence Of GodHigher PurposeMoral Growth
Book:The Evolution Of God: The origins of our beliefs
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“We're all puppets, and our best hope for even partial liberation is to try to decipher the logic of the puppeteer. Just because natural selection created us doesn't mean we have to slavishly follow its peculiar agenda. (If anything, we might be tempted to spite it for all the ridiculous baggage it's saddled us with.)”

IfsTryingMeanMightNaturalLogicRidiculousLiberationSpiteAgendasPeculiarSelectionTemptedPuppetsNatural SelectionBaggageHoping For The BestDecipherPuppeteer
Author:Robert Wright
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“If two people stare at each other for more than a few seconds, it means they are about to either make love or fight. Something similar might be said about human societies. If two nearby societies are in contact for any length of time, they will either trade or fight. The first is non-zero-sum social integration, and the second ultimately brings it.”

PeopleIfsFirstsHumansMeanSaidTwoMightFightingSocialTradeContactStaringLengthZeroSecondsMaking LoveIntegrationHuman Society
Author:Robert Wright
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“If war can indeed be turned into a relic, then the virtue of greed will recede further. From a given society's standpoint, one big upside of wanton material acquisition has traditionally been the way it drives technological progress-which, after all, helps keep societies strong. In the nineteenth century, Russia ans Germany had little choice about modernizing; in those days stasis invited conquest. But if societies no longer face conquest, breakneck technological advance is an offer they can refuse, and frugality a luxury people can afford.”

PeopleIfsWayLittlesWarHelpingBigsFacesChoicesStrongGivenChangeVirtueProgressCenturyMaterialsOffersGreedRefuseRussiaLuxuryGermanyTechnologicalInvitedConquestAcquisitionStandpointNineteenth CenturyRelicsFrugalityWantonTechnological ProgressStasis
Book:Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
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“Corruption is knowing when something is not being done, knowing when the American people are being left unprotected and when you make a decision not to do something to protect the American people And you effectively allow 9/11 to occur. That is the ultimate form of government corruption-dereliction of duty. That's subject in the military to prosecution, to court martial. Frankly, if not treason.”

PeopleIfsDoneGovernmentFormLeftDecisionKnowingSubjectsMilitaryDutyProtectUltimateCourtCorruptionForms Of GovernmentTreasonBeing DoneGovernment CorruptionProsecution
Author:Robert Wright
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