27 Quotes by Massimo Pigliucci

Epicureans, from the beginning, rejected idealisms and absolutes that divorced people from context and from nature, and chose to engage reality instead. Our morality is contextual. Rather than hand down absolute dos and don’ts, the first Epicureans elaborated methods by which we can most effectively use our faculties.

We are not becoming more educated; we are simply acquiring more knowledge. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

The problem nowadays is that, by and large, we do a pretty bad job of picking role models. We glorify actors, singers, athletes, and generic “celebrities,” only to be disappointed when – predictably – it turns out that their excellence at reciting, singing, playing basketball, or racking up Facebook likes and Twitter followers has pretty much nothing to do with their moral fiber.

The thought is that Hitler is an unfortunate node in the way the world is unfolding. He did not choose to be the evil person he is. He deserves compassion, not anger. And he must die for reasons of compassion: compassion for him and all those who might suffer his awfulness.

For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert; but for every fact there is not necessarily an equal and opposite fact. – Thomas Sowell, American economist.

Understanding is the beginning of both wisdom and compassion.

The fact that our qualities are relational has ethical implications. Since there is no “me” that is completely independent of my relationships, I live well to the extent that I do a good job at my relationships.

Shift your goals from the external to the internal: repeat to yourself that your objective is not to hit the target, but to deliver the best shot of which you are capable.

Confucius was once asked if there is “one teaching that can serve as a guide for one’s entire life.” He said that all you really need to know is the word reciprocity: “Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire.