Agency Quote by Paul Bloom
“Perhaps looking out through big baby eyes - if we could - would not be as revelatory experience as many imagine. We might see a world inhabited by objects and people, a world infused with causation, agency, and morality - a world that would surprise us not by its freshness but by its familiarity.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Art of Thinking Clearly, Paul Bloom, 2020
Seeing the world through a child's perspective reveals familiar structures in a fresh way, highlighting inherent causation, agency, and morality.
In simple terms: Childlike view shows familiar moral and causal patterns.
Key Takeaway
Embrace curiosity and question assumptions.
Themes
cognition
perception
morality
childhood
philosophy
Mood
wonderful
reflective
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- education
- parenting
- creative problem solving
- design thinking
Key Concepts
Theory of Mind
Naïve realism
Empathy
Questions to Reflect On
- How does a child’s view challenge your biases?
- What familiar patterns become visible when you “see anew”?
A Different Perspective
May oversimplify complex adult realities.
![“Our best hope for the future [...] lies in an appreciation of the fact that, even if we don’t empathize with distant strangers, their lives have the same value as the lives of those we love.” quote by Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/630/paul-bloom-3720_appreciation_our-best-hope-for-the-future-lies-in-an_177200.jpg)
![“We have no clear ideas of the agency of [demonic] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but tells us plainly that he is always watching us, and desiring to sift us as wheat. I believe we give him no more than his due, when we charge him with having a…” quote by John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c75/john-newton-6629_abundance_we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of_2907.jpg)
