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Quote by Paul Bloom

“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.”

Quote by Paul Bloom

Author

Paul Bloom is a renowned cognitive psychologist, born on December 24, 1963. He is a professor at Yale University, where he studies human thinking, decision-making, and judgment. Bloom's research spans multiple areas, including intuition, intuitive thinking, cognitive biases, and moral judgment. more

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“I think Americans are always going to care more about Americans than about Mexicans.”

Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

People Ifs Thinking World Way Care Community Stranger Acknowledge Going Away Good Way American Life

Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests.”

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Book:The Papers of Andrew Johnson: September 1868-April 1869

Source: The Papers of Andrew Johnson: September 1868-April 1869

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“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.”

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Author:Paul Bloom

“The fact that something can be used for good isn't necessarily a knockdown argument for it.”

Author:Paul Bloom