“The asshole, by contrast, traffics in and is moved by moral justification—except that moral justification, for him, leads to an entrenched sense… — Aaron James Character 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… — Aaron James Self love 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… — Aaron James Fight 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… — Aaron James Asshole 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… — Aaron James Special treatment 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 Asshole Copy Share Image
“The key is to understand why we are easily tempted to fight on the asshole’s terms: we are fighting for moral recognition… — Aaron James Tempted Fight 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… — Aaron James Rage 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… — Aaron James Character 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… — Aaron James Urban dictionary 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… — Aaron James Psychopath 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… — Aaron James Respect Copy Share Image
“When anyone seems to be provoking you, remember that it is only your judgement of the incident that provokes you” — Aaron James Provoking Copy Share Image
“The asshole refuses to listen to our legitimate complaints, and so he poses a challenge to the idea that we are each… — Aaron James Copy Share Image
“The asshole not only takes special privileges but refuses to listen when people complain.” — Aaron James Asshole Copy Share Image
“answer to our initial question: What is it for someone to be an asshole?4 If nothing else, a good answer—a good theory… — Aaron James Good Theory Copy Share Image
“The general problem is that the asshole helps himself to more than his share, or acts out of turn, or sloughs off… — Aaron James Problem Asshole Copy Share Image
“reflection is for most people an important source of moral learning, the asshole puts reflection mainly in the service of assuring himself.… — Aaron James Self-Awareness Copy Share Image
“Our theory is simply this: a person counts as an asshole when, and only when, he systematically allows himself to enjoy special… — Aaron James Asshole Copy Share Image
