Larissa MacFarquhar
Larissa MacFarquhar
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Full Name and Common Aliases
Larissa MacFarquhar is a journalist and author known for her in-depth profiles of intellectuals and thought leaders.
Birth and Death Dates
Born: April 15, 1967
Died: Not applicable (still alive)
Nationality and Profession(s)
American
Journalist
Author
MacFarquhar has written extensively on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, and intellectual history.
Early Life and Background
Larissa MacFarquhar was born in 1967 to a family with strong literary roots. Her parents were both writers and intellectuals who instilled in her a love of reading and learning from an early age. MacFarquhar grew up surrounded by the works of great thinkers and writers, which would later influence her own writing style and subject matter.
MacFarquhar attended Harvard University, where she studied English literature and philosophy. It was during this time that she began to develop her skills as a writer and researcher, publishing articles in various college newspapers and magazines.
Major Accomplishments
Author of "Strangers Drowning: Impossible Love, Unlikely Heroes--and the Restless People Who Reimagine the World" (2015): MacFarquhar's book explores the lives of individuals who have dedicated themselves to helping others, often at great personal cost. The book offers a nuanced and thought-provoking examination of altruism, morality, and the human condition.
Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Feature Writing: In 2000, MacFarquhar was recognized as a finalist for her article "The True Story of the Polygamous Sect" in The New Yorker.Notable Works or Actions
MacFarquhar's writing has appeared in various publications, including:
The New Yorker
The New York Review of Books
The Atlantic
Her work often focuses on themes of morality, ethics, and the human condition, drawing on her extensive research and interviews with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Impact and Legacy
Larissa MacFarquhar's writing has had a significant impact on readers and thinkers around the world. Her in-depth profiles of intellectuals and thought leaders have helped to shed light on complex issues and ideas, making them more accessible and engaging for a broad audience.
MacFarquhar's work also reflects her commitment to exploring the complexities of human nature and behavior. By delving into the lives of individuals who have dedicated themselves to helping others, she offers readers a nuanced understanding of what it means to be altruistic and morally responsible.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Larissa MacFarquhar is widely quoted and remembered for her insightful and engaging writing style, which has earned her recognition as one of the leading journalists of her generation. Her ability to craft compelling narratives around complex ideas and individuals has made her a respected voice in both academic and literary circles.
In addition to her writing, MacFarquhar's commitment to exploring the human condition and promoting critical thinking has made her a beloved figure among readers and thinkers. Her work continues to inspire and educate audiences around the world.
Quotes by Larissa MacFarquhar
However much postcolonial condescension and racism and machismo there might be mixed up in an aid worker’s urge to help suffering foreigners, that seemed less awful than isolation and unrepentant selfishness.
To drink, to get drunk, is to lower yourself on purpose for the sake of good fellowship.
To judge is to believe that a person is capable of doing better. It’s to know that people can change their behavior, even quite radically in response to what is expected of them.
He wasn’t good at meditation – he found serenity difficult – but discomfort came naturally.
Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings.
Excessive altruism tended to preclude real intimacy with another person, because intimacy was a business of giving and receiving, but the overly moral person could not receive, only give.
He believed that a person who had not felt pain, mental or physical, was incapable of strong attachments, and that shared suffering was the mortar of community. Pain broke a man open and let other people in; suffering was at the core of what it meant to be human.
The aim of an artist is not to solve a problem irrefutably, but to make people love life in all its countless, inexhaustible manifestations.
Trying to help is at best useless and at worst damaging; but to stop trying to help is to give up on humanity. Humanitarians are condescending hypocrites, but they are the best of us.
To judge is to believe that a person is capable of doing better. It's to know that people can change their behavior, even quite radically in response to what is expected of them.