Even in the most peaceful communities, an appetite for violence shows up in dreams, fantasies, sports, play, literature, movies and television. And, so long as we don’t transform into angels, violence and the threat of violence – as in punishment and deterrence – is needed to rein in our worst instincts. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Relying on the face might be human nature – even babies prefer to look at attractive people. But, of course, judging someone based on the geometry of his features is, from a moral and legal standpoint, no better than judging him based on the color of his skin. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Almost nobody believes anymore that infants are insensate blobs. It seems both mad and evil to deny experience and feeling to a laughing, gurgling creature. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Imagination tends to be truly useful if accompanied by the power of mental control – if the worlds in one’s head can be purposefully manipulated and distinguished from the real one outside it. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Empty heads, cognitive science has taught us, learn nothing. The powerful cultural and personal flexibility of our species is owed at least in part to our starting off so well-informed; we are good learners because we know what to pay attention to and what questions are the right ones to ask. Paul Bloom Read Quote
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. Paul Bloom Read Quote
If you look within the United States, religion seems to make you a better person. Yet atheist societies do very well – better, in many ways, than devout ones. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Natural selection shaped the human brain to be drawn toward aspects of nature that enhance our survival and reproduction, like verdant landscapes and docile creatures. There is no payoff to getting the warm fuzzies in the presence of rats, snakes, mosquitoes, cockroaches, herpes simplex and the rabies virus. Paul Bloom Read Quote
Some of the natural world is appealing, some of it is terrifying, and some of it grosses us out. Modern people don’t want to be dropped naked into a swamp. We want to tour Yosemite with our water bottles and G.P.S. devices. The natural world is a source of happiness and fulfillment, but only when prescribed in the right doses. Paul Bloom Read Quote
