I'm not a pacifist. I think the suffering of innocent people can be a catalyst for moral action. But empathy puts too… — Paul Bloom Action 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
A sympathetic parent might see the spark of consciousness in a baby's large eyes and eagerly accept the popular claim that babies… — Paul Bloom Accept Copy Share Image
“the egalitarian lifestyles of hunter-gatherers exist because the individuals care a lot about status. Individuals in these societies end up roughly equal… — Paul Bloom Community Copy Share Image
Relying on the face might be human nature - even babies prefer to look at attractive people. But, of course, judging someone… — Paul Bloom Attractive Copy Share Image
I think we should really discourage this sort of empathic engagement when it comes to making moral decisions. I think we should… — Paul Bloom Care Copy Share Image
Strong moral arguments exist for why we should often try to ignore stereotypes or override them. But we shouldn't assume they represent… — Paul Bloom Argument Copy Share Image
We don't just respond to things as we see them, or feel them, or hear them. Rather, our response is conditioned on… — Paul Bloom Belief 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
The irrationality of disgust suggests it is unreliable as a source of moral insight. There may be good arguments against gay marriage,… — Paul Bloom Abortion Copy Share Image
“Moral deliberation has to be somewhere in the brain, after all. It’s not going to be in the foot or the stomach,… — Paul Bloom Character Copy Share Image
Perhaps looking out through big baby eyes - if we could - would not be as revelatory experience as many imagine. We… — Paul Bloom Agency Copy Share Image
Even in the most peaceful communities, an appetite for violence shows up in dreams, fantasies, sports, play, literature, movies and television. And,… — Paul Bloom Angels Copy Share Image
We benefit, intellectually and personally, from the interplay between different selves, from the balance between long-term contemplation and short-term impulse. We should… — Paul Bloom About Copy Share Image
Part of the satisfaction of tattling surely comes from showing oneself to adults as a good moral agent, a responsible being who… — Paul Bloom Adult Copy Share Image
Our best hope for the future is not to get people to think of all humanity as family - that's impossible. It… — Paul Bloom Appreciation Copy Share Image
Families survive the Terrible Twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.… — Paul Bloom Adult Copy Share Image
When I write I'll sometimes say things which are somewhat controversial - not because I'm seeking out controversy for its own sake,… — Paul Bloom Bother Copy Share Image
I have my own difficulty with movies in which the suffering of the characters is too real, and many find it difficult… — Paul Bloom Characters Copy Share Image
“So if the world were a simple place, where the only dilemmas one had to deal with involved a single person in… — Paul Bloom Empathy Copy Share Image
Morality is often seen as an innovation, like agriculture and writing. From this perspective, babies are pint-sized psychopaths, self-interested beings who need… — Paul Bloom Agriculture Copy Share Image
You might argue on utilitarian grounds that the best way for the world to work is for everybody to take care of… — Paul Bloom Arguing Copy Share Image
I think if we could turn the dial a bit, and try to take what the philosopher Henry Sidgwick called "the point… — Paul Bloom Bits Copy Share Image
I draw a lot from Buddhism, which focuses on compassion and kindness, loving kindness, as they call it, but rejects empathy because… — Paul Bloom Buddhism Copy Share Image
Having kids has proven to be this amazing - for me, this amazing source of ideas of anecdotes, of examples, I can… — Paul Bloom Advantage Copy Share Image
Enjoying fiction requires a shift in selfhood. You give up your own identity and try on the identities of other people, adopting… — Paul Bloom Adopting Copy Share Image
People differ in where they direct their empathy and their compassion. Many people are intensely concerned about the suffering of non-human animals,… — Paul Bloom Animal Copy Share Image
I have huge admiration for people who think like the effective altruist, who try to rationally think about how they can change… — Paul Bloom Admiration Copy Share Image
When you start writing things to try to persuade someone who's not already part of your guild or your profession that something… — Paul Bloom Ask yourself Copy Share Image
Maybe one of the most heartening findings from the psychology of pleasure is there's more to looking good than your physical appearance.… — Paul Bloom Anyone Copy Share Image
Some scholars argue that although the brain might contain neural subsystems, or modules, specialized for tasks like recognizing faces and understanding language,… — Paul Bloom Also 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
You'd expect, as good Darwinian creatures, we would evolve to be fascinated with how the world really is, and we would use… — Paul Bloom Convey 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
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
We know that young babies, as they become capable of moving voluntarily, will share. They will share food, for instance, with their… — Paul Bloom Around 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
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
“Being a good person likely is more related to distanced feelings of compassion and kindness, along with intelligence, self-control, and a sense… — Paul Bloom Bad person Copy Share Image
If our moral attitudes are entirely the result of nonrational factors, such as gut feelings and the absorption of cultural norms, they… — Paul Bloom Absorb Copy Share Image
