The emotions triggered by fiction are very real. When Charles Dickens wrote about the death of Little Nell in the 1840s, people… — Paul Bloom About Copy Share Image
Philosophers have often looked for the defining feature of humans — language, rationality, culture, and so on. I'd stick with this: Man… — Paul Bloom Animal Copy Share Image
If our wondrous kindness is evidence for God, is our capacity for great evil proof of the Devil? — Paul Bloom Capacity Copy Share Image
We are constituted so that simple acts of kindness, such as giving to charity or expressing gratitude, have a positive effect on… — Paul Bloom Acts of kindness Copy Share Image
Every president, Democratic or Republican, simply works on the supposition that it's better to keep jobs in America than let them go… — Paul Bloom America Copy Share Image
The enjoyment we get from something is powerfully influenced by what we think that thing really is. This is true for intellectual… — Paul Bloom Appreciation Copy Share Image
“And it isn’t a mistake in taste, like believing that the Matrix sequels were as good as the original.” — Paul Bloom Failure Copy Share Image
Something as important and central and encompassing as empathy can't be all bad. I think empathy plays a role in intimate relationships,… — Paul Bloom Care Copy Share Image
When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. — Paul Bloom Empathy Copy Share Image
Even the charities I give to are related to things that touch my life, like the Special Olympics. I'm not fully rational;… — Paul Bloom Charity Copy Share Image
Periods of cooperation between political parties shouldn't be taken for granted; they are a stunning human achievement. — Paul Bloom Achievement Copy Share Image
I argue that we should be kind, we should be compassionate, and we should definitely be reasonable and rational, but that empathy… — Paul Bloom Arguing Copy Share Image
Once we accept violence as an adaptation, it makes sense that its expression is calibrated to the environment. The same individual will… — Paul Bloom Accept Copy Share Image
If you look within the United States, religion seems to make you a better person. Yet atheist societies do very well -… — Paul Bloom Atheist Copy Share Image
And empathy is narrow; it connects us to particular individuals, real or imagined, but is insensitive to numerical differences and statistical data. — Paul Bloom Data Copy Share Image
Some people think that without that spark of empathy we would do nothing, but that's just flat-out wrong. You could feel compassion… — Paul Bloom Compassion Copy Share Image
It's really difficult working with kids and with babies because they are not cooperative subjects: they are not socialized into the idea… — Paul Bloom Babies Copy Share Image
Imagination tends to be truly useful if accompanied by the power of mental control - if the worlds in one's head can… — Paul Bloom Accompanied Copy Share Image
I think there's some evidence that we're empathic by nature. There is some evidence from studies of babies and young children that… — Paul Bloom Baby Copy Share Image
Over the last few years, I've been focusing on questions having to do with the self, and questions having to do with… — Paul Bloom Bad thing Copy Share Image
A religion such as Judaism or Catholicism might survive even if it comes to reject a literal account of God creating man… — Paul Bloom Accounts Copy Share Image
“Marsh recounts an anecdote about a psychopath who was being tested with a series of pictures and who failed over and over… — Paul Bloom Fear Copy Share Image
Empty heads, cognitive science has taught us, learn nothing. The powerful cultural and personal flexibility of our species is owed at least… — Paul Bloom Attention Copy Share Image
We'd be really screwed if we had to start our life over again as children with our brains right now, because I… — Paul Bloom Again Copy Share Image
