In my experience and observation, senior appointments are rarely based entirely on merit.

Men in particular think that they have achieved something if they can make a woman mad, particularly if she is calm and intellectual.

In my case, I give a lot to animal welfare because I think that’s pretty neglected in America.

This is my Achilles heel. If some Internet technician is on the phone with me and he‘s being irrational and incompetent and stupid, I get really mad and I can sort of feel my blood pressure going up.

I find so often, you know, just on a very mundane level; you’ve got a meeting and your child‘s acting in a school play. You can’t do both things. And it’s not simply that you can’t do both, but whatever you do, you’re going to be neglecting something that’s really important.

You have to address anger, fear, and then to think about what the alternatives are: hope, faith, a certain kind of brotherly love. And then you have to set yourself to cultivate those.

I really disliked Philadelphia society – really, deeply disliked it. I spent a lot of my teenage years writing poetry attacking it.

You have to connect your work to what people are doing. A good way is to construct a bridge between theory and practice – Amartya Sen and I tried this by founding the Human Development and Capabilities Association where practitioners meet theoreticians and their discourse influences practice.

I wouldn’t express anything without being very thoughtful.

I think a lot of people get hope through civic organizations and through their churches.

There is no reason why an American scholar cannot by himself or herself develop an adequate understanding of another culture. And I don’t find any reason to suppose that the birth within a culture automatically confers understanding.

When I am disgusted by certain American politicians, I fantasize moving away to Finland – a country in which I have worked a little, and which I see as a pure blue and green place of unpolluted lakes, peaceful forests, and pristine social-democratic values.

I wake up at night thinking about Euripides’ ‘Hecuba.’ That to me is a story that says so much about what it is to be a human being in the middle of a world of unreliable things and people.

It’s a form of human love to accept our complicated, messy humanity and not run away from it.

Mob rule is always extremely dangerous for the future of democracy.

It is easier to treat people as objects to be manipulated if you have never learned any other way to see them.

I’m very passionate about political issues, but I also think that listening to people who disagree is extremely important, and I try to build that into my teaching, sometimes by co-teaching with rightwing colleagues.

Knowledge is not a guarantee of good political behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior.

I don’t waste time despising people.

American men do have genuine reasons for anxiety. The traditional jobs that many men have filled are disappearing, thanks to automation and outsourcing. The jobs that remain require, in most cases, higher education, which is increasingly difficult for non-affluent families to afford.

In general, I agree with Socrates that what democracies badly need is the examined life, and we need to think critically about ourselves.

It is easier to treat people as objects to be manipulated if you have never learned any other way to see them.

Martin Luther King and Gandhi were not people who failed in self-respect. They were people of hope and great courage, and their courage was disciplined.

At Chicago I offer a course on Emotion, Reason and the Law that law students just love. But I am not there as a lawyer, my job is to teach philosophy.

American men do have genuine reasons for anxiety. The traditional jobs that many men have filled are disappearing, thanks to automation and outsourcing. The jobs that remain require, in most cases, higher education, which is increasingly difficult for non-affluent families to afford.

Disgust for the female body is always tinged with anxiety, since the body symbolizes mortality.

Philanthropy can have a very strong selfish component.

My high school did not offer courses in philosophy, so the books that initially stimulated philosophical reflection in me were novels by Charles Dickens, Henry James, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Well, I’m trained as a classicist, so I like to read the Greeks and Romans.

If you’ve been betrayed by a spouse or a partner, it’s much easier to focus on causing that person pain than it is to turn forward and actually create a life that’s worthy of you in the future.

Envy, propelled by fear, can be even more toxic than anger, because it involves the thought that other people enjoy the good things of life which the envier can’t hope to attain through hard work and emulation.

Martin Luther King and Gandhi were not people who failed in self-respect. They were people of hope and great courage, and their courage was disciplined.

If you look into the religions, they have this deep idea of human dignity and the source of dignity being conscience.

Giving children the sense that you always ought to speak up for what’s right, even if it costs you something, that’s something you can do.

Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger.

Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger.

To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, the ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered.

To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, the ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered.

It’s easy to think that college classes are mainly about preparing you for a job. But remember: this may be the one time in your life when you have a chance to think about the whole of your life, not just your job.

I enjoy intellectual companionship.

I enjoy intellectual companionship.

I worked among many famous philosophers, and I tried to observe how they treated students. I knew which ones I wanted to be like, and which ones I didn’t.

I’m very upset that the Supreme Court ruled that citizens don’t have standing to challenge the faith based initiatives on constitutional grounds.

I wake up at night thinking about Euripides’ ‘Hecuba.’ That to me is a story that says so much about what it is to be a human being in the middle of a world of unreliable things and people.

I’m very upset that the Supreme Court ruled that citizens don’t have standing to challenge the faith based initiatives on constitutional grounds.

Politicians are at a great distance from the academic world. Barack Obama was my colleague at Chicago – but could i ever talk to him now? Never.

You have to connect your work to what people are doing. A good way is to construct a bridge between theory and practice – Amartya Sen and I tried this by founding the Human Development and Capabilities Association where practitioners meet theoreticians and their discourse influences practice.

In my case, I give a lot to animal welfare because I think that’s pretty neglected in America.

Emotions aren’t just mindless urges; they contain thoughts about matters of importance.

Disgust for the female body is always tinged with anxiety, since the body symbolizes mortality.

The U.S. has always understood itself to be united around political principles and not around culture, whereas the nations of Europe have a much more traditional conception of nationhood that is connected to romanticism, which thinks of religion and culture as ingredients of nationhood.

As an undergraduate, I studied the Greek and Roman classics, and I went to graduate school in classics intending to work on the presentation of moral issues in various Greek and Roman tragedies.

Disgust is often more deeply buried than envy and anger, but it compounds and intensifies the other negative emotions.

At first I imagined I’d write detective novels, because I loved ‘Nancy Drew.’

Clothing that covers the body can be comfortable or uncomfortable, depending on the fabric. In India I typically wear a full salwaar kameez of cotton, because it is superbly comfortable, and full covering keeps dust off one’s limbs and at least diminishes the risk of skin cancer.

I wish a person with a record of competence such as Nitish Kumar would get a chance to lead India.

There’s nothing illogical, it seems to me, about saying, ‘I am going to care deeply about my work and my writing. I’m also going to care deeply about my family and my child.’

Knowledge is not a guarantee of good political behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior.

Most Americans do really think that Muslims all want to take over and they don’t want democracy and they want nothing but Islamic law.

It’s a form of human love to accept our complicated, messy humanity and not run away from it.

We see unreasoning fear driving a certain amount of public policy, perhaps more in Europe than in the U.S.

The U.S. has always understood itself to be united around political principles and not around culture, whereas the nations of Europe have a much more traditional conception of nationhood that is connected to romanticism, which thinks of religion and culture as ingredients of nationhood.

All of us, whether we are ignorant of philosophy or professors of philosophy, find it easier to follow dogma than to think.

I can run a long distance very slowly and I do a half marathon every year.

Often, we feel helpless in lots of situations in our lives. The way anger gets a grip on us is it seems to be a way to extricate ourselves from helplessness.

What all emotions have in common, and what distinguishes them from bodily appetites, is a focus on an object and a view of that object as salient for one’s life.

I don’t want to talk about the regulation of financial markets because that is not my sphere of expertise. It’s a very complicated topic, and if I have written a number of books they are always on topics that I think I know something about.

Teaching has always been a very important part of my life. It is one of the ways I contribute to society. It is also a source of energy and insight.

Emotions aren’t just mindless urges; they contain thoughts about matters of importance.

I think that it’s rational to fear your own death or to fear harm to your family.

I love fashion, and I simply enjoy good design in clothes and regard that as one of my hobbies.

We see unreasoning fear driving a certain amount of public policy, perhaps more in Europe than in the U.S.

Some emotions are essential to law and to public principles of justice: anger at wrongdoing, fear for our safety, compassion for the pain of others, all these are good reasons to make laws that protect people in their rights.

I love fashion, and I simply enjoy good design in clothes and regard that as one of my hobbies.

I love to exercise.

The first thing you get from the humanities, when they’re well taught, is critical thinking. Philosophy in particular can play that role, not just in universities but in schools as well.

Well, I’m trained as a classicist, so I like to read the Greeks and Romans.

I thought as an actress I would be able to have broader emotional experiences, but then I quickly figured out that I wanted to think about tragic dramas, not act in them.

I have spent a lot of my career working on normative political philosophy, developing the ‘capabilities approach‘ to social justice. I have also spent a lot of my career working on the structure of the emotions, and their role in human life.

People shouldn’t be teaching if they break appointments, if they behave in an irresponsible way. I try to be down-to-earth and sensible. I want students to know I’m going to work for all of them and not play favorites and that I’m really going to do my work.

I am not a pacifist – I think that violence and self-defence are often morally justified.

To be sure Plato did not favor ‘affirmative action‘ to fill political and military offices in his own society; nor did he enroll women in his school.

It’s always been intriguing to me, the loveability of mortality.

The imagination is an innate gift, but it needs refinement and cultivation; this is what the humanities provide.

There were several men who had blazed the trail for talking about emotions in philosophy; otherwise my work would have had even more opposition than it did.

I wish a person with a record of competence such as Nitish Kumar would get a chance to lead India.

To be sure Plato did not favor ‘affirmative action‘ to fill political and military offices in his own society; nor did he enroll women in his school.

Every single university student should study philosophy. You need to lead the examined life and question your beliefs. If you don’t learn critical thinking, then political debate degenerates into a contest of slogans.

Fear and monarchy pair nicely. But democracy means you have to work with people you may not like but you must still believe are your equals. And a fearful people never trust the other side.

I am not a pacifist – I think that violence and self-defence are often morally justified.

Men are angry at women because they aren’t doing what they are supposed to do, which is support men. They are in the workplace claiming their own rights and often outdoing men. They are daring to bring charges of sexual assault and harassment. They are just not behaving themselves!

Some emotions are essential to law and to public principles of justice: anger at wrongdoing, fear for our safety, compassion for the pain of others, all these are good reasons to make laws that protect people in their rights.

This is true across every single society; we project grossness onto a racial or gender subgroup or caste. A big part of social subordination and discrimination is to ascribe hyper-animality to other groups and use that as an excuse for subordinating them further.

This is true across every single society; we project grossness onto a racial or gender subgroup or caste. A big part of social subordination and discrimination is to ascribe hyper-animality to other groups and use that as an excuse for subordinating them further.

Fear requires belief that you will be harmed, and it is easily manipulated by rhetoric.

Among the good and decent men, some are unprepared for the surprises of life, and their good intentions run aground when confronted with issues like child care.

I’d like to be a student in Rabindranath Tagore‘s school in Santiniketan in around 1915, dancing in the dance-dramas he wrote.

I think that Muslims are criticised all around the world.

I think ageing is challenging, surprising, fun, and full of friendship, so that is the approach I’ll take, objecting to the stigmatization of ageing in so many modern societies.

When we have emotions of fear and pity toward the hero of a tragedy, we explore aspects of our own vulnerability in a safe and pleasing setting.

People shouldn’t be teaching if they break appointments, if they behave in an irresponsible way. I try to be down-to-earth and sensible. I want students to know I’m going to work for all of them and not play favorites and that I’m really going to do my work.