“Untested assumptions and lazy habits of thought can be shown up, once put in a spotlight of a different hue.” Quote by Julian Baggini
“The mark of a mature, psychologically healthy mind is indeed the ability to live with uncertainty and ambiguity, but only as much as there really is. Uncertainty is no virtue when the facts are clear, and ambiguity is mere obfuscation when more precise terms are applicable.” MindFactsTermAbilityVirtueClearHealthyMarkMereUncertaintyMaturePreciseAmbiguityHealthy MindObfuscation Author:Julian Baggini
“The optimist underestimates how difficult it is to achieve real change, believing that anything is possible and it's possible now. Only by confronting head-on the reality that all progress is going to be obstructed by vested interests and corrupted by human venality can we create realistic programmes that actually have a chance of success.” BelieveHumansRealRealityDifficultInterestChanceProgressAchieveRealisticUnderestimateOptimistProgrammesConfrontingAnything Is PossibleReal ChangeVested Interests Author:Julian Baggini
“True humility is expressed in deeds, not words. The humble are those who truly walk the same ground as everyone else - not necessarily with grovelling, hunched backs, but certainly not lording it over others, either.” WalksHumilityDeedsHumbleTrue HumilityDeeds Not Words Author:Julian Baggini
“True respect means taking other people's beliefs seriously and assuming they are adult and intelligent enough to be able to cope with it if you tell them, clearly and civility, why you think they are totally, utterly and disastrously wrong.” PeopleIfsThinkingMeanEnoughAbleBeliefAdultsIntelligentAssumingCivility Author:Julian Baggini
“Big sporting events and spectacles might give the national morale a shot in the arm, but they are too transient and taste-specific to stand as robust symbols of nationhood.” GivingBigsMightEventsArmsTasteShotsSymbolsTransientRobustMoraleSpectaclesSporting Events Author:Julian Baggini
“Constructive complaint requires only two things: that what you are complaining about should be different, and that it can be different. It sounds simple, but too often our protests fail this test.” ShouldTwoDifferentSoundSimpleFailingTestsComplainingTwo ThingsProtestComplaintsConstructive Author:Julian Baggini
“Cooking can be rewarding when it is a choice and no longer the onerous duty of the housewife, and when a dishwasher can lighten the load at the other end of the process.” EndsChoicesProcessDutyCookingLoadHousewifeDishwashers Author:Julian Baggini
“Daily life is better when it involves interactions with real people who have a personal investment in their labour, like shopkeepers, than it is with someone 'just doing my job' or the infernal self-checkout machine.” PeopleRealSelfJobsLife IsMachinesInvestmentLabourDaily LifeInteractionShopkeepersCheckouts Author:Julian Baggini
“Dover's cliffs call to mind the Roman invasion; the Battle of Britain; our proximity to, yet difference from, mainland Europe; and international trade and exploration, both fair and exploitative.” MindDifferencesBattleEuropeFairsTradeInternationalBritainExplorationCliffsInvasionProximityInternational TradeDoverBattle Of Britain Author:Julian Baggini
“From time to time, it is worth wandering around the fuzzy border regions of what you do, if only to remind yourself that no human activity is an island.” IfsHumansActivityWanderBordersIslandsRegionsHuman ActivityFuzzyWandering Around Author:Julian Baggini