“answer to our initial question: What is it for someone to be an asshole?4 If nothing else, a good answer—a good theory of the asshole—would be intellectually interesting. It would give us the concepts to finally think” — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“of view, may show that he is not getting the respect he deserves. Although our theory is a definition of the term “asshole,” we… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“Fully cooperative people, we may say, see themselves as equals, as having grounds for special treatment only in special circumstances that others will equally… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“and third things a theory of assholes should explain are related and must be handled with greater care. The second thing to explain is… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“To summarize, then, our three requirements for a good theory of assholes are as follows. We are looking for (1) a stable trait of… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“That is why otherwise coolheaded people fall into a fit of rage or lash out at the asshole: they are fighting to be recognized.” — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“According to Rousseau, healthy self-love does not require comparing oneself to others at all; feeling worthy does not necessarily involve feeling superior to someone.… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“The asshole not only takes special privileges but refuses to listen when people complain.” — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“The fight can become extraordinarily frustrating because the asshole usually wins: his sense of entitlement is entrenched, so there is usually no getting through.” — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“However misguided, the asshole is morally motivated. He is fundamentally different from the psychopath, who either lacks or fails to engage moral concepts, and… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“The asshole is not just another annoying person but a deeply bothersome person—bothersome enough to trigger feelings of powerlessness, fear, or rage.” — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“one of our basic moral responsibilities is to hear people out, to at least take seriously the reasons they give for wanting to be… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“The asshole, by contrast, traffics in and is moved by moral justification—except that moral justification, for him, leads to an entrenched sense of special… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
