English Quotes

The better we understand history, the faster history alters its course, and the faster our knowledge becomes outdated. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time. #MargaretBonnano

Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time. #MargaretBonnano — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

One of the consequenses of surviving schizophrenia for fifty years is that sooner or later, the cure becomes as damaging as the disease #RobertKolker

One of the consequenses of surviving schizophrenia for fifty years is that sooner or later, the cure becomes as damaging as the disease #RobertKolker — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

In nature there is only ever one reason you cede the high ground--you are acknowledging defeat [...] But under the rules of politeness, you let the other person off not because you are a weakling, a coward or a failure, but because you value calm over chaos. #TheSchoolOfLife

In nature there is only ever one reason you cede the high ground--you are acknowledging defeat [...] But under the rules of politeness, you let the other person off not because you are a weakling, a coward or a failure, but because you value calm over chaos. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

At every single stage--from its biased arrival, to its biased encoding, to organising it around false logic, to misremembering and then misrepresenting it to others, the mind continually acts to distort the information flow in favour of [a goal of appearing better] #RobertTrivers

At every single stage--from its biased arrival, to its biased encoding, to organising it around false logic, to misremembering and then misrepresenting it to others, the mind continually acts to distort the information flow in favour of [a goal of appearing better] #RobertTrivers — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

Many of the persons commonly considered wealthy are, in reality, no more wealthy than the locks of their own strong boxes, they being inherently and eternally incapable of wealth. #AlaindeBotton

Many of the persons commonly considered wealthy are, in reality, no more wealthy than the locks of their own strong boxes, they being inherently and eternally incapable of wealth. #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 13, 2025

One has to feel very small in order to belittle. #AlaindeBotton

One has to feel very small in order to belittle. #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 12, 2025

We take our cues from what the buildings around us 'speak about'. If they speak of grace and charm, kindness and light, our mood will be buoyant; if, however, they seem to threaten and intimidate us, we will feel humiliated and cowed. #TheSchoolOfLife

We take our cues from what the buildings around us 'speak about'. If they speak of grace and charm, kindness and light, our mood will be buoyant; if, however, they seem to threaten and intimidate us, we will feel humiliated and cowed. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 12, 2025

But if we are convinced by this idea that without a future for humanity we would lose interest in a wide range of our activities and confidence in what we value (much like in the immortality case), then we arrive at a startling conclusion. #DerrenBrown

But if we are convinced by this idea that without a future for humanity we would lose interest in a wide range of our activities and confidence in what we value (much like in the immortality case), then we arrive at a startling conclusion. #DerrenBrown — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 12, 2025

Nowadays, however, economic class is barely mentioned unless combined intersectionally with some other form of marginalized identity. It is therefore no surprise that many working-class and poor people often feel profoundly alienated from today's left #HelenPluckrose

Nowadays, however, economic class is barely mentioned unless combined intersectionally with some other form of marginalized identity. It is therefore no surprise that many working-class and poor people often feel profoundly alienated from today's left #HelenPluckrose — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 12, 2025

And, like news and ordinary conversation, these research conversations tend to cluster around a few currently hot (relevant) topics. Perversely, however, the reliability of research decreases with the popularity of a field. #KevinSimler

And, like news and ordinary conversation, these research conversations tend to cluster around a few currently hot (relevant) topics. Perversely, however, the reliability of research decreases with the popularity of a field. #KevinSimler — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 12, 2025

Anyone who engages in the practice of psychotherapy confronts every day the devastation wrought by the teachings of religion. #NathanielBranden

Anyone who engages in the practice of psychotherapy confronts every day the devastation wrought by the teachings of religion. #NathanielBranden — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

I think Upton Sinclair once wrote that a man has difficulty understanding something if his salary depends on his not understanding. #PatrickRaddenKeefe

I think Upton Sinclair once wrote that a man has difficulty understanding something if his salary depends on his not understanding. #PatrickRaddenKeefe — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

The general uncertainty as to what is really happening makes it easier to cling to lunatic beliefs. Since nothing is ever quite proved or disproved, the most unmistakable fact can be impudently denied. #GeorgeOrwell

The general uncertainty as to what is really happening makes it easier to cling to lunatic beliefs. Since nothing is ever quite proved or disproved, the most unmistakable fact can be impudently denied. #GeorgeOrwell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

We don't ultimately grow kind by thinking about manners. We grow kind by thinking about self-doubt and self-hatred. #TheSchoolOfLife

We don't ultimately grow kind by thinking about manners. We grow kind by thinking about self-doubt and self-hatred. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

Extroverts are better than introverts at handling information overload. Introverts' reflectiveness uses up a lot of cognitive capacity, according to Joseph Newman. #SusanCain

Extroverts are better than introverts at handling information overload. Introverts' reflectiveness uses up a lot of cognitive capacity, according to Joseph Newman. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

There is no real freedom without economic justice. #BernieSanders

There is no real freedom without economic justice. #BernieSanders — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 11, 2025

And here's the most basic of all ideological questions: Preserve the present order, or change it? #JonathanHaidt

And here's the most basic of all ideological questions: Preserve the present order, or change it? #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

[Self-integrated people] are not blown off course by storms. They don't crumble in adversity. Their minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable. Their virtues are not the blooming virtues you see in smart college students; they are the ripening virtues... #DavidBrooks

[Self-integrated people] are not blown off course by storms. They don't crumble in adversity. Their minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable. Their virtues are not the blooming virtues you see in smart college students; they are the ripening virtues... #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

...we have seen a broad shift from a culture of humility to the culture of what you might call the Big Me, from a culture that encouraged people to think humbly of themselves to a culture that encouraged people to see themselves as the center of the universe. #DavidBrooks

...we have seen a broad shift from a culture of humility to the culture of what you might call the Big Me, from a culture that encouraged people to think humbly of themselves to a culture that encouraged people to see themselves as the center of the universe. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

The left and right ends of the political spectrum, incensed by economic inequality for their different reasons, curled around to meet each other, and their shared cynicism about the modern economy helped elect the most radical American president in recent times. #StevenPinker

The left and right ends of the political spectrum, incensed by economic inequality for their different reasons, curled around to meet each other, and their shared cynicism about the modern economy helped elect the most radical American president in recent times. #StevenPinker — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

The tribal differences that erupt into public controversy typically concern sex (e.g., gay marriage, gays in the military, the sex lives of public officials) and death at the margins of life (e.g., abortion, physician-assisted suicide, the use of embryonic stem cells #JoshuaGre…

The tribal differences that erupt into public controversy typically concern sex (e.g., gay marriage, gays in the military, the sex lives of public officials) and death at the margins of life (e.g., abortion, physician-assisted suicide, the use of embryonic stem cells #JoshuaGre… — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

Only a small number of people ever self-consciously write their autobiographies. It is a task we associate with celebrities and the very old, but it is, in the background, a universal activity. #TheSchoolOfLife

Only a small number of people ever self-consciously write their autobiographies. It is a task we associate with celebrities and the very old, but it is, in the background, a universal activity. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 10, 2025

...we show interest by widening our eyes and looking toward the thing we're interested in, the better to take in visual information. Unlike words, which vary from language to language, most of these [body language] signals are shared across cultures. #KevinSimler

...we show interest by widening our eyes and looking toward the thing we're interested in, the better to take in visual information. Unlike words, which vary from language to language, most of these [body language] signals are shared across cultures. #KevinSimler — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

What we dislike in others is often a weakness in our own lives. #GaryChapman

What we dislike in others is often a weakness in our own lives. #GaryChapman — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

Be conscious of the cost of context switching. It's very real, and you should try to minimize it. #JeffSutherland

Be conscious of the cost of context switching. It's very real, and you should try to minimize it. #JeffSutherland — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

...identifying keystone habits is tricky. To find them, you have to know where to look. Detecting keystone habits means searching out certain characteristics. #CharlesDuhigg

...identifying keystone habits is tricky. To find them, you have to know where to look. Detecting keystone habits means searching out certain characteristics. #CharlesDuhigg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

[Distractions] can accumulate and keep us from living the lives we want to live, or, even worse, undermine our capacities for reflection and self-regulation... there are deep ethical implications lurking here for freedom, wellbeing, and even the integrity of the self. #JamesWil…

[Distractions] can accumulate and keep us from living the lives we want to live, or, even worse, undermine our capacities for reflection and self-regulation... there are deep ethical implications lurking here for freedom, wellbeing, and even the integrity of the self. #JamesWil… — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

The more writers we read, the better our understanding of our own mind stands to be. #TheSchoolOfLife

The more writers we read, the better our understanding of our own mind stands to be. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 9, 2025

Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself & in surpassing itself; if all it does is maintain itself, then living is only not dying, & human existence is indistinguishable from an absurd vegetation #SimonedeBeauvoir

Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself & in surpassing itself; if all it does is maintain itself, then living is only not dying, & human existence is indistinguishable from an absurd vegetation #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

When people remember the crucial events that formed them, they don't usually talk about happiness. It is usually the ordeals that seem most significant. Most people shoot for happiness but feel formed through suffering. #DavidBrooks

When people remember the crucial events that formed them, they don't usually talk about happiness. It is usually the ordeals that seem most significant. Most people shoot for happiness but feel formed through suffering. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

[Associate virtue with] an exploration of the volumes daily transcribed within ourselves by our perceptual mechanisms. #TheSchoolOfLife

[Associate virtue with] an exploration of the volumes daily transcribed within ourselves by our perceptual mechanisms. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

The use of single terms implicitly hypersimplifies what are in fact extraordinarily diverse and complex phenomena (that masked complexity is part of the reason that the terms come to carry so much emotional weight). #JordanPeterson

The use of single terms implicitly hypersimplifies what are in fact extraordinarily diverse and complex phenomena (that masked complexity is part of the reason that the terms come to carry so much emotional weight). #JordanPeterson — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

If you were a woman, you had far less time to find a man. True love? This guy has a job and a decent mustache. Lock it down, girl. #AzizAnsari

If you were a woman, you had far less time to find a man. True love? This guy has a job and a decent mustache. Lock it down, girl. #AzizAnsari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

Snaking through the midst of the banal everyday is a deep weirdness, a world of flowerings, decompositions, and seepages, of a million crawling things, of spores and lacy fungal filaments, of minerals reacting and things being eaten awayll just on the other side... #JennyOdell

Snaking through the midst of the banal everyday is a deep weirdness, a world of flowerings, decompositions, and seepages, of a million crawling things, of spores and lacy fungal filaments, of minerals reacting and things being eaten awayll just on the other side... #JennyOdell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 8, 2025

What drives us to fury are affronts to our expectations #TheSchoolOfLife

What drives us to fury are affronts to our expectations #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 7, 2025

Our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love but to be genuinely loved by another, to know a love that grows out of reason and choice, not instinct. I need to be loved by someone who chooses to love me, who sees in me something worth loving. #GaryChapman

Our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love but to be genuinely loved by another, to know a love that grows out of reason and choice, not instinct. I need to be loved by someone who chooses to love me, who sees in me something worth loving. #GaryChapman — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 7, 2025

Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you're willing to stick with them for years. #JamesClear

Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you're willing to stick with them for years. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 7, 2025

When we did the large focus group where we split the room by generation--kids on the left, parents on the right--a strange thing happened [...] the parents' side of the room was full of chatter [...] On the kids' side, everyone was buried in their phones #AzizAnsari

When we did the large focus group where we split the room by generation--kids on the left, parents on the right--a strange thing happened [...] the parents' side of the room was full of chatter [...] On the kids' side, everyone was buried in their phones #AzizAnsari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 7, 2025

Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals. #JamesClear

Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 6, 2025

[Self-care] is poised to be wrenched away from activists and turned into an excuse to buy an expensive bath oil. #GabrielleMoss

[Self-care] is poised to be wrenched away from activists and turned into an excuse to buy an expensive bath oil. #GabrielleMoss — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 6, 2025

You don't need a Bill of Rights to protect the rights of the majority in a democracy, because the vote already does that. #JonathanHaidt

You don't need a Bill of Rights to protect the rights of the majority in a democracy, because the vote already does that. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 6, 2025

In the global digital network, labor is transformed into small parcels of nervous energy picked up by the recombining machine... The workers are deprived of every individual consistency. Strictly speaking, the workers no longer exist. Their time exists... #FrancoBerardi

In the global digital network, labor is transformed into small parcels of nervous energy picked up by the recombining machine... The workers are deprived of every individual consistency. Strictly speaking, the workers no longer exist. Their time exists... #FrancoBerardi — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 6, 2025

[A good life needs to] know how to go along with the rules sufficiently well so as not to get mired in needless fights with authority; and simultaneously never to believe too blindly or too passively in the long-term validity of everything we're asked to study. #TheSchoolOfLife

[A good life needs to] know how to go along with the rules sufficiently well so as not to get mired in needless fights with authority; and simultaneously never to believe too blindly or too passively in the long-term validity of everything we're asked to study. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 6, 2025

The point is, our minds aren't as private as we like to imagine. Other people have partial visibility into what we're thinking. Faced with the translucency of our own minds, then, self-deception is often the most robust way to mislead others. #RobinHanson

The point is, our minds aren't as private as we like to imagine. Other people have partial visibility into what we're thinking. Faced with the translucency of our own minds, then, self-deception is often the most robust way to mislead others. #RobinHanson — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

[The U.S.] will progressively reduce its forces and military installations on Taiwan as the tension in the area diminishes. #HenryKissinger

[The U.S.] will progressively reduce its forces and military installations on Taiwan as the tension in the area diminishes. #HenryKissinger — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

It is time to reject conventional wisdom and incrementalism. It is time to fundamentally rethink our adherence to the system of unfettered capitalism, and to address the unspeakable harm that system is doing to us all. #BernieSanders

It is time to reject conventional wisdom and incrementalism. It is time to fundamentally rethink our adherence to the system of unfettered capitalism, and to address the unspeakable harm that system is doing to us all. #BernieSanders — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

...any man who has known real loves, real revolts, real desires, and real will knows quite well that he has no need of any outside guarantee to be sure of his goals; their certitude comes from his own drive. #SimonedeBeauvoir

...any man who has known real loves, real revolts, real desires, and real will knows quite well that he has no need of any outside guarantee to be sure of his goals; their certitude comes from his own drive. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other. #EricHoffer

There would be no society if living together depended upon understanding each other. #EricHoffer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

The cognitive sciences have replaced literature as the way many people attempt to understand their own minds. #DavidBrooks

The cognitive sciences have replaced literature as the way many people attempt to understand their own minds. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 5, 2025

The paradoxes embedded into any situation do not allow for a clean and ultimate resolution. You expand liberty at the cost of encouraging license. You crack down on license at the cost of limiting liberty. There is no escaping this sort of trade-off. #DavidBrooks

The paradoxes embedded into any situation do not allow for a clean and ultimate resolution. You expand liberty at the cost of encouraging license. You crack down on license at the cost of limiting liberty. There is no escaping this sort of trade-off. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 4, 2025

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize? #MarcusAurelius

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize? #MarcusAurelius — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 4, 2025

As technology accumulates and people in more parts of the planet become interdependent, the hatred between them tends to decrease, for the simple reason that you can't kill someone and trade with him too. #StevenPinker

As technology accumulates and people in more parts of the planet become interdependent, the hatred between them tends to decrease, for the simple reason that you can't kill someone and trade with him too. #StevenPinker — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 4, 2025

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. #Plato

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. #Plato — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 4, 2025

If we shift as we age toward appreciating everyday pleasures and relationships rather than toward achieving, having and getting, and if we find this more fulfilling, then why do we take so long to do it? Why do we wait until we're old? [...] lessons are hard to learn #AtulGawande

If we shift as we age toward appreciating everyday pleasures and relationships rather than toward achieving, having and getting, and if we find this more fulfilling, then why do we take so long to do it? Why do we wait until we're old? [...] lessons are hard to learn #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 4, 2025

To discover the rules of society that are best suited to nations, there would need to exist a superior intelligence, who could understand the passions of men without feeling any of them, who had no affinity with our nature but knew it to the full... #JeanJacquesRousseau

To discover the rules of society that are best suited to nations, there would need to exist a superior intelligence, who could understand the passions of men without feeling any of them, who had no affinity with our nature but knew it to the full... #JeanJacquesRousseau — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

We should afford more regularly to exchange self-hatred for lawful and honourable expressions of annoyance. #TheSchoolOfLife

We should afford more regularly to exchange self-hatred for lawful and honourable expressions of annoyance. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

[Hume and Kant] helped to expose [racism's] fundamental flaws. For instance, Hume argued that morality is based on humans' natural attunement to one another's feelings and a discomfort at sensing others' discomfort that can be elevated into more impartial justice. #DouglasMurray

[Hume and Kant] helped to expose [racism's] fundamental flaws. For instance, Hume argued that morality is based on humans' natural attunement to one another's feelings and a discomfort at sensing others' discomfort that can be elevated into more impartial justice. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

...we rely for our self-esteem and sense of comfort on the love of people we cannot control and whose needs and hopes will never align seamlessly with our own. #AlaindeBotton

...we rely for our self-esteem and sense of comfort on the love of people we cannot control and whose needs and hopes will never align seamlessly with our own. #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

Much of what Freud believed to be biological, instinctual, and changeless has been shown by modern research to be a result of specific cultural causes. #BettyFriedan

Much of what Freud believed to be biological, instinctual, and changeless has been shown by modern research to be a result of specific cultural causes. #BettyFriedan — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

...the rich countries liberalized their trade only when their producers were ready, and usually only gradually even then. In other words, historically, trade liberalization has been the outcome rather than the cause of economic development. #HaJoonChang

...the rich countries liberalized their trade only when their producers were ready, and usually only gradually even then. In other words, historically, trade liberalization has been the outcome rather than the cause of economic development. #HaJoonChang — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 3, 2025

In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world. #NicholasDKristof

In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world. #NicholasDKristof — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 2, 2025

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured. #SusanCain

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 2, 2025

There's nothing special about race. You can make people care less about race by drowning race differences in a sea of similarities, shared goals, and mutual interdependencies. #JonathanHaidt

There's nothing special about race. You can make people care less about race by drowning race differences in a sea of similarities, shared goals, and mutual interdependencies. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 2, 2025

A 2011 study that boyd conducted with Alice E. Marwick found that Twitter users who had built the most successful personal brands did so by recognizing the fact that they no longer really knew who their audience was. #JennyOdell

A 2011 study that boyd conducted with Alice E. Marwick found that Twitter users who had built the most successful personal brands did so by recognizing the fact that they no longer really knew who their audience was. #JennyOdell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 2, 2025

It's strange, isn't it?' the woman said in a pensive voice. 'Everything is blowing up around us, but there are still those who care about a broken lock, and others who are dutiful enough to try to fix it... But maybe that's the way it should be. #HarukiMurakami

It's strange, isn't it?' the woman said in a pensive voice. 'Everything is blowing up around us, but there are still those who care about a broken lock, and others who are dutiful enough to try to fix it... But maybe that's the way it should be. #HarukiMurakami — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 2, 2025

The challenge posed to humankind in the twenty-first century by infotech and biotech is arguably much bigger than the challenge posed in the previous era by steam engines, railways and electricity. #YuvalNoahHarari

The challenge posed to humankind in the twenty-first century by infotech and biotech is arguably much bigger than the challenge posed in the previous era by steam engines, railways and electricity. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

I do not come in saying, 'I'm so sorry.' Instead, it's: 'I'm the hospice nurse, and here's what I have to offer you to make your life better. And I know we don't have a lot of time to waste. #AtulGawande

I do not come in saying, 'I'm so sorry.' Instead, it's: 'I'm the hospice nurse, and here's what I have to offer you to make your life better. And I know we don't have a lot of time to waste. #AtulGawande — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

I will repeat the following until I am hoarse: it is contagion that determines the fate of a theory in social science, not its validity. #NassimNicholasTaleb

I will repeat the following until I am hoarse: it is contagion that determines the fate of a theory in social science, not its validity. #NassimNicholasTaleb — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. #Plato

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. #Plato — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

Yet a society that properly loved children would know that the greatest factor contributing to children's welfare is the removal of the idea that everyone should automatically have them. A good society would give equal prestige to child-free and childful states. #TheSchoolOfLife

Yet a society that properly loved children would know that the greatest factor contributing to children's welfare is the removal of the idea that everyone should automatically have them. A good society would give equal prestige to child-free and childful states. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

Rightly or wrongly, people might reach the same conclusions about Big Data algorithms: they have lots of hitches, but we have no better alternative. #YuvalNoahHarari

Rightly or wrongly, people might reach the same conclusions about Big Data algorithms: they have lots of hitches, but we have no better alternative. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Dec 1, 2025

Community is attenuated, connections are dissolved, and loneliness spreads. This situation makes it difficult to be good--to fulfill the deep human desires for love and connection. It's hard on people of all ages, but it's especially hard on young adults. #DavidBrooks

Community is attenuated, connections are dissolved, and loneliness spreads. This situation makes it difficult to be good--to fulfill the deep human desires for love and connection. It's hard on people of all ages, but it's especially hard on young adults. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 30, 2025

The love you give each other can be your greatest service. Like ripples in a pond your love spreads out in circles and changes all it touches. The way you treat each other becomes the way you treat all things. #WilliamMartin

The love you give each other can be your greatest service. Like ripples in a pond your love spreads out in circles and changes all it touches. The way you treat each other becomes the way you treat all things. #WilliamMartin — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 30, 2025

When you can't win by being better, you can win by being different. #JamesClear

When you can't win by being better, you can win by being different. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 30, 2025

If he who has control of men ought not to control the laws, then he who controls the laws ought not control men: otherwise his laws would minister to his passions #JeanJacquesRousseau

If he who has control of men ought not to control the laws, then he who controls the laws ought not control men: otherwise his laws would minister to his passions #JeanJacquesRousseau — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 30, 2025

People in the valley have been broken open. They have been reminded that they are not just the parts of themselves that they put on display. #DavidBrooks

People in the valley have been broken open. They have been reminded that they are not just the parts of themselves that they put on display. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 30, 2025

Since, beginning with the same premise and examining the same body of anthropological evidence, she now arrives at a slightly different sexual role for women, one might seriously question the basis upon which she decides the roles a woman should play #BettyFriedan

Since, beginning with the same premise and examining the same body of anthropological evidence, she now arrives at a slightly different sexual role for women, one might seriously question the basis upon which she decides the roles a woman should play #BettyFriedan — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

We do not want to spend money on marketing side to generate leads. That's why the first million is very hard. It's more like to test water. If we know we can deliver first one million, we know we can deliver second, third? #EricYuan

We do not want to spend money on marketing side to generate leads. That's why the first million is very hard. It's more like to test water. If we know we can deliver first one million, we know we can deliver second, third? #EricYuan — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

In an unequal society, those who land on top want to believe their success is morally justified. In a meritocratic society, this means the winners must believe they have earned their success through their own talent and hard work. #MichaelSandel

In an unequal society, those who land on top want to believe their success is morally justified. In a meritocratic society, this means the winners must believe they have earned their success through their own talent and hard work. #MichaelSandel — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

When central planning resulted in mass famine in rural China, millions starved to death while the youngsters in Europe waving communist red flags knew nothing about it. When in the past whole species or ecosystems were destroyed, no one realized or even cared. #HansRosling

When central planning resulted in mass famine in rural China, millions starved to death while the youngsters in Europe waving communist red flags knew nothing about it. When in the past whole species or ecosystems were destroyed, no one realized or even cared. #HansRosling — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

Throughout human history, people have found that they are most aware of their depths when they are on retreats, during moments of separation and stillness, during moments of quiet communion. #DavidBrooks

Throughout human history, people have found that they are most aware of their depths when they are on retreats, during moments of separation and stillness, during moments of quiet communion. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. #DavidBrooks

In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 29, 2025

Conspiracy theories and viral falsehoods are probably as old as language. #StevenPinker

Conspiracy theories and viral falsehoods are probably as old as language. #StevenPinker — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 28, 2025

The Chinese can bring out a seven-month-old fetus, as was reported in the news in September 2012. A heavily pregnant woman in Shaanxi province, Feng Jianmei, was forced to undergo an abortion because she had not sought official permission for her pregnancy. #LeeKuanYew

The Chinese can bring out a seven-month-old fetus, as was reported in the news in September 2012. A heavily pregnant woman in Shaanxi province, Feng Jianmei, was forced to undergo an abortion because she had not sought official permission for her pregnancy. #LeeKuanYew — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 28, 2025

We were not hit but we were injured. We failed to receive the love that makes people firm and whole; that allows them to feel authentic and deserving; that prevents them from being impressed by those who mistreat them; that stops [self-blaming] when they mess up. #TheSchoolOfLife

We were not hit but we were injured. We failed to receive the love that makes people firm and whole; that allows them to feel authentic and deserving; that prevents them from being impressed by those who mistreat them; that stops [self-blaming] when they mess up. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 28, 2025

A species equipped with vengeance and gratitude responses can support larger and more cooperative social groups because the payoff to cheaters is reduced by the costs they bear in making enemies. #JonathanHaidt

A species equipped with vengeance and gratitude responses can support larger and more cooperative social groups because the payoff to cheaters is reduced by the costs they bear in making enemies. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 28, 2025

The moderate knows there is no ultimate resolution to these tensions. Great matters cannot be settled by taking into account just one principle or one viewpoint. #DavidBrooks

The moderate knows there is no ultimate resolution to these tensions. Great matters cannot be settled by taking into account just one principle or one viewpoint. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 28, 2025

Would-be rulers justified their authority on the basis of their ancestry. [Either] descent from the gods or from an earlier king or legendary hero, their legitimacy depended on the purity of their parents' bloodlines and the validity of their parents' marriages. #StephanieCoontz

Would-be rulers justified their authority on the basis of their ancestry. [Either] descent from the gods or from an earlier king or legendary hero, their legitimacy depended on the purity of their parents' bloodlines and the validity of their parents' marriages. #StephanieCoontz — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 27, 2025

This is all the fault of evolution. For countless generations our biochemical system adapted to increasing our chances of survival and reproduction, not our happiness. #YuvalNoahHarari

This is all the fault of evolution. For countless generations our biochemical system adapted to increasing our chances of survival and reproduction, not our happiness. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 27, 2025

...we all believe in karma, the Hindu notion that people reap what they sow. The psychologist Mel Lerner has demonstrated that we are so motivated to believe that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get that we often blame the victim of a tragedy... #JonathanHaidt

...we all believe in karma, the Hindu notion that people reap what they sow. The psychologist Mel Lerner has demonstrated that we are so motivated to believe that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get that we often blame the victim of a tragedy... #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 27, 2025

When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you. #Aurelius

When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are. You will realize that there is no need to be racked with anxiety that they should hold any particular opinion about you. #Aurelius — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 27, 2025

To reach the source, you have to swim against the current. Only trash swims downstream. #HarukiMurakami

To reach the source, you have to swim against the current. Only trash swims downstream. #HarukiMurakami — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 27, 2025

Don't confuse the urgent with the important. #PrestonNi

Don't confuse the urgent with the important. #PrestonNi — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

Responsiveness and throughput: how quickly you can respond to things, and how much you can get done overall. #BrianChristian

Responsiveness and throughput: how quickly you can respond to things, and how much you can get done overall. #BrianChristian — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

In Russia there is no reticence about expressing your negative criticism openly. For instance, if you are displeased with the service in a shop or restaurant you can tell the shop assistant or waiter exactly what you think of him, his relatives, his in-laws, his habits #ErinMeyer

In Russia there is no reticence about expressing your negative criticism openly. For instance, if you are displeased with the service in a shop or restaurant you can tell the shop assistant or waiter exactly what you think of him, his relatives, his in-laws, his habits #ErinMeyer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

Yes, it's important not to get eaten by tigers. But consider that every creature alive today is the final link in an unbroken chain of ancestors who managed to reproduce. [...] From the perspective of evolution, mating, not survival, is the name of the game. #KevinSimler

Yes, it's important not to get eaten by tigers. But consider that every creature alive today is the final link in an unbroken chain of ancestors who managed to reproduce. [...] From the perspective of evolution, mating, not survival, is the name of the game. #KevinSimler — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

...we are bound to discover some things about ourselves that we don't like. But once we see they're there, we can decide what we want to do with them. Do we want to get rid of them completely, change them into other things, or use them in beneficial ways? #BenjaminHoff

...we are bound to discover some things about ourselves that we don't like. But once we see they're there, we can decide what we want to do with them. Do we want to get rid of them completely, change them into other things, or use them in beneficial ways? #BenjaminHoff — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It's the ability to keep going when work isn't exciting that makes the difference. #JamesClear

Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It's the ability to keep going when work isn't exciting that makes the difference. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 26, 2025

In fact, what are generosity, mercy, and humanity, if not pity applied to the weak, to the guilty, or to the human species in general. #JeanJacquesRousseau

In fact, what are generosity, mercy, and humanity, if not pity applied to the weak, to the guilty, or to the human species in general. #JeanJacquesRousseau — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

America confronted no power in need of being balanced, it could hardly have occupied itself with the challenges of equilibrium even if its leaders had been seized by the bizarre notion of replicating European conditions amidst a people who had turned their backs #HenryKissinger

America confronted no power in need of being balanced, it could hardly have occupied itself with the challenges of equilibrium even if its leaders had been seized by the bizarre notion of replicating European conditions amidst a people who had turned their backs #HenryKissinger — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

Commitment is a promise made from love. A commitment is making a promise to something without expecting a return--out of sheer lovingness. #DavidBrooks

Commitment is a promise made from love. A commitment is making a promise to something without expecting a return--out of sheer lovingness. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

Societies that exclude the exoskeleton of religion should reflect carefully to what will happen to them over several generations. We don't really know, because the first atheistic societies have only emerged in Europe in the last few decades. #JonathanHaidt

Societies that exclude the exoskeleton of religion should reflect carefully to what will happen to them over several generations. We don't really know, because the first atheistic societies have only emerged in Europe in the last few decades. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

It is the particularity of the project which determines the limitation of the power, but it is also what gives the project its content and permits it to be set up. #SimonedeBeauvoir

It is the particularity of the project which determines the limitation of the power, but it is also what gives the project its content and permits it to be set up. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. #GeorgeSantayana

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. #GeorgeSantayana — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 25, 2025

Survival in that [foraging] era required superb mental abilities from everyone. When agriculture and industry came along people could increasingly rely on the skills of others for survival, and new 'niches for imbeciles' were opened up. #YuvalNoahHarari

Survival in that [foraging] era required superb mental abilities from everyone. When agriculture and industry came along people could increasingly rely on the skills of others for survival, and new 'niches for imbeciles' were opened up. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 24, 2025

[75 percent of US child television programs] the hero either kills people or beats them up. This violence typically constitutes the climax of the show. Viewers, having been taught that bad guys deserve to be punished, take pleasure in watching this violence. #MarshallRosenberg

[75 percent of US child television programs] the hero either kills people or beats them up. This violence typically constitutes the climax of the show. Viewers, having been taught that bad guys deserve to be punished, take pleasure in watching this violence. #MarshallRosenberg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 24, 2025

Humans are the only creatures on Earth whose young are utterly helpless for years, and heavily dependent on adult care for more than a decade. Given the enormous burden that is the human child, women can't do it on their own. #JonathanHaidt

Humans are the only creatures on Earth whose young are utterly helpless for years, and heavily dependent on adult care for more than a decade. Given the enormous burden that is the human child, women can't do it on their own. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 24, 2025

With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become. #JamesClear

With outcome-based habits, the focus is on what you want to achieve. With identity-based habits, the focus is on who you wish to become. #JamesClear — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 24, 2025

If we haven't travelled, if we don't yet know what we want, if we have a hard time staying with anyone for a while or remaining friendly with them when we part [...] then we might consider whether--in fairness to everyone involved--this is really for us. #TheSchoolOfLife

If we haven't travelled, if we don't yet know what we want, if we have a hard time staying with anyone for a while or remaining friendly with them when we part [...] then we might consider whether--in fairness to everyone involved--this is really for us. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 23, 2025

We can never properly be secure, because so long as we are alive, we will be alert to danger and in some way at risk. The only people with full security are the dead; the only people who can be truly at peace are under the ground #TheSchoolOfLife

We can never properly be secure, because so long as we are alive, we will be alert to danger and in some way at risk. The only people with full security are the dead; the only people who can be truly at peace are under the ground #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 23, 2025

But we are morally inarticulate. We're not more selfish or venal than people in other times, but we've lost the understanding of how character is built. #DavidBrooks

But we are morally inarticulate. We're not more selfish or venal than people in other times, but we've lost the understanding of how character is built. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 23, 2025

Studies suggest that this process of experimentation--and failure--is critical in long-term habit change. Smokers often quit and then start smoking again as many as seven times before giving up cigarettes for good. [Those relapses are not failures but experiments.] #CharlesDuhigg

Studies suggest that this process of experimentation--and failure--is critical in long-term habit change. Smokers often quit and then start smoking again as many as seven times before giving up cigarettes for good. [Those relapses are not failures but experiments.] #CharlesDuhigg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 23, 2025

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. #Thoreau

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. #Thoreau — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 23, 2025

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking. #MarcusAurelius

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking. #MarcusAurelius — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

I talked to women who had spent years on the analyst's couch, working out their adjustment to the feminine role, their blocks to fulfillment as a wife and mother. [They] were sure they had no problem, even though they did have a strange feeling of desperation. #BettyFriedan

I talked to women who had spent years on the analyst's couch, working out their adjustment to the feminine role, their blocks to fulfillment as a wife and mother. [They] were sure they had no problem, even though they did have a strange feeling of desperation. #BettyFriedan — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

Fortune [says with chilling candour] Inconstancy is my very essence; it is the game I never cease to play as I turn my wheel in its ever changing circle... Yes, rise up on my wheel if you like, but don't count it an injury when by the same token you begin to fall #TheSchoolOfLife

Fortune [says with chilling candour] Inconstancy is my very essence; it is the game I never cease to play as I turn my wheel in its ever changing circle... Yes, rise up on my wheel if you like, but don't count it an injury when by the same token you begin to fall #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality. #ThichNhatHanh

We have to continue to learn. We have to be open. And we have to be ready to release our knowledge in order to come to a higher understanding of reality. #ThichNhatHanh — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

People began to talk of equality, but they did not seem to care about equal rights. They talked of anti-racism, but they sounded deeply racist. They spoke of justice, but they seemed to mean revenge. #DouglasMurray

People began to talk of equality, but they did not seem to care about equal rights. They talked of anti-racism, but they sounded deeply racist. They spoke of justice, but they seemed to mean revenge. #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

Genuine philosophical problems are always rooted outside philosophy and they die if these roots decay... [emphasis mine] These roots are easily forgotten by philosophers who study philosophy instead of being forced into philosophy by the pressure of nonphilosophical problems.

Genuine philosophical problems are always rooted outside philosophy and they die if these roots decay... [emphasis mine] These roots are easily forgotten by philosophers who study philosophy instead of being forced into philosophy by the pressure of nonphilosophical problems. — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 22, 2025

[Politeness] is a view that was advanced particularly by the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century. Hobbes was acutely conscious that our normal, unrestrained instincts are far from being wholly nice. #TheSchoolOfLife

[Politeness] is a view that was advanced particularly by the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century. Hobbes was acutely conscious that our normal, unrestrained instincts are far from being wholly nice. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

[Explaining asexuality] requires us to use the language of lack, claiming we are legitimate in spite of being deficient, while struggling to explain exactly what it is we don't get. #AngelaChen

[Explaining asexuality] requires us to use the language of lack, claiming we are legitimate in spite of being deficient, while struggling to explain exactly what it is we don't get. #AngelaChen — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

The moral is clear. If we seek others, we should stay at home; if we wish to alleviate loneliness, we should turn down invitations; if we want company, we would be better off communing with dead writers and poets than hunting for solace at large gatherings. #TheSchoolOfLife

The moral is clear. If we seek others, we should stay at home; if we wish to alleviate loneliness, we should turn down invitations; if we want company, we would be better off communing with dead writers and poets than hunting for solace at large gatherings. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

...if enough people in a society are suffering from a form of exhaustion, might it not be that the society they are living in has become exhausted? #DouglasMurray

...if enough people in a society are suffering from a form of exhaustion, might it not be that the society they are living in has become exhausted? #DouglasMurray — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

We humans have an extraordinary ability to care about things beyond ourselves, to circle around those things with other people, and in the process to bind ourselves into teams that can pursue larger projects. That's what religion is all about. #JonathanHaidt

We humans have an extraordinary ability to care about things beyond ourselves, to circle around those things with other people, and in the process to bind ourselves into teams that can pursue larger projects. That's what religion is all about. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

If we are outraged that somebody insulted our nation or our god, what makes the insult unbearable is the burning sensations in the pit of our stomach and the band of pain that grips our heart. Our nation feels nothing, but our body really hurts. #YuvalNoahHarari

If we are outraged that somebody insulted our nation or our god, what makes the insult unbearable is the burning sensations in the pit of our stomach and the band of pain that grips our heart. Our nation feels nothing, but our body really hurts. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 21, 2025

...your are the prime driver of your life. The world is malleable enough to be shaped by you. To lead a better life you just have to work harder, or use more willpower, or make better decisions. #DavidBrooks

...your are the prime driver of your life. The world is malleable enough to be shaped by you. To lead a better life you just have to work harder, or use more willpower, or make better decisions. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 20, 2025

The most urgent priority might be not to know, in order that other, more important, elements closer to home might gain the prominence they deserve. #TheSchoolOfLife

The most urgent priority might be not to know, in order that other, more important, elements closer to home might gain the prominence they deserve. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 20, 2025

Just because there's an end doesn't mean existence has meaning. An end point is simply set up as a temporary marker, or perhaps as an indirect metaphor for the fleeting nature of existence. #HarukiMurakami

Just because there's an end doesn't mean existence has meaning. An end point is simply set up as a temporary marker, or perhaps as an indirect metaphor for the fleeting nature of existence. #HarukiMurakami — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 20, 2025

The Russian saying If we pass a stranger on the street who is smiling, we know with certainty that that person is crazy... or else American. #ErinMeyer

The Russian saying If we pass a stranger on the street who is smiling, we know with certainty that that person is crazy... or else American. #ErinMeyer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 20, 2025

Politeness provides a way where you can back down with dignity. #TheSchoolOfLife

Politeness provides a way where you can back down with dignity. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 20, 2025

Seligman proposed not so much a new psychological approach as a new positive attitude that moved basic and applied psychology away from stagnation and focused scholars on the unexploited market target of healthy, normal people. #EvaIllouz

Seligman proposed not so much a new psychological approach as a new positive attitude that moved basic and applied psychology away from stagnation and focused scholars on the unexploited market target of healthy, normal people. #EvaIllouz — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

In prosperity, after a certain time, it falls back to that state; in adversity, after a certain time, it rises up to it. If this idea is correct, then we are all stuck on what has been called the hedonic treadmill. #JonathanHaidt

In prosperity, after a certain time, it falls back to that state; in adversity, after a certain time, it rises up to it. If this idea is correct, then we are all stuck on what has been called the hedonic treadmill. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

History and societies do not crawl. They make jumps. They go from fracture to fracture, with a few vibrations in between. Yet we (and historians) like to believe in the predictable, small incremental progression. #NassimNicholasTaleb

History and societies do not crawl. They make jumps. They go from fracture to fracture, with a few vibrations in between. Yet we (and historians) like to believe in the predictable, small incremental progression. #NassimNicholasTaleb — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

When we hear a prediction about the future that contradicts our experience-based notion of how things work, our instinct is that the prediction must be naive. #TimUrban

When we hear a prediction about the future that contradicts our experience-based notion of how things work, our instinct is that the prediction must be naive. #TimUrban — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

Every society is already characterized by patterned behavior; otherwise it would be pure conflict and no 'society' at all. #JordanPeterson

Every society is already characterized by patterned behavior; otherwise it would be pure conflict and no 'society' at all. #JordanPeterson — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

...the human mind reacts to bad things more quickly, strongly, and persistently than to equivalent good things. We can't just will ourselves to see everything as good because our minds are wired to find and react to threats, violations, and setbacks. #JonathanHaidt

...the human mind reacts to bad things more quickly, strongly, and persistently than to equivalent good things. We can't just will ourselves to see everything as good because our minds are wired to find and react to threats, violations, and setbacks. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 19, 2025

I like it when people give me attention! I like being interesting! And these are all things that our societal narrative attaches to sex, Selena says. For allos, sex is so natural an explanation for behavior that other reasons [can be hard to fathom] #AngelaChen

I like it when people give me attention! I like being interesting! And these are all things that our societal narrative attaches to sex, Selena says. For allos, sex is so natural an explanation for behavior that other reasons [can be hard to fathom] #AngelaChen — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

...find time and space each day to redress the balance... use it to remind ourselves that so much of our life has nothing to do with us... it is only with our thoughts and actions that we need to concern ourselves... our centre of gravity returns to its correct place #DerrenBrown

...find time and space each day to redress the balance... use it to remind ourselves that so much of our life has nothing to do with us... it is only with our thoughts and actions that we need to concern ourselves... our centre of gravity returns to its correct place #DerrenBrown — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

Enjoy the journey. Savor the small things. The luscious taste of a peach, the lavish colors of tropical fish, the rush from exercise that allows one to experience the stern joy which warriors feel. #LuluMiller

Enjoy the journey. Savor the small things. The luscious taste of a peach, the lavish colors of tropical fish, the rush from exercise that allows one to experience the stern joy which warriors feel. #LuluMiller — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

The new [capitalist--consumerist] ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money and that the masses give free reign to their cravings and passions and buy more and more. #YuvalNoahHarari

The new [capitalist--consumerist] ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money and that the masses give free reign to their cravings and passions and buy more and more. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

We can be geniuses at working out the thousand small steps required to advance a project, but poor at giving ourselves the time and space to figure out whether the project was ever even relevant. #TheSchoolOfLife

We can be geniuses at working out the thousand small steps required to advance a project, but poor at giving ourselves the time and space to figure out whether the project was ever even relevant. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them. #ThichNhatHanh

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them. #ThichNhatHanh — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 18, 2025

The daytime-office you is a misleading picture of what you're like. This insomnia is a gift, and this lonely plastic hotel is its precious, unexpected, generous guardian. #TheSchoolOfLife

The daytime-office you is a misleading picture of what you're like. This insomnia is a gift, and this lonely plastic hotel is its precious, unexpected, generous guardian. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. #GaryChapman

Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. #GaryChapman — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

IF YOUR CHILD IS READY FOR FIRST GRADE: 1979 EDITION [...] 10. Can he repeat an eight- to ten-word sentence, if you say it once, as The boy ran all the way home from the store? 11. Can he count eight to ten pennies correctly? #JonathanHaidt

IF YOUR CHILD IS READY FOR FIRST GRADE: 1979 EDITION [...] 10. Can he repeat an eight- to ten-word sentence, if you say it once, as The boy ran all the way home from the store? 11. Can he count eight to ten pennies correctly? #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

The slave trade was not controlled by any state or government. It was a purely economic enterprise, organised and financed by the free market according to the laws of supply and demand. Private slave-trading companies sold shares [in] Amsterdam, London and Paris #YuvalNoahHarari

The slave trade was not controlled by any state or government. It was a purely economic enterprise, organised and financed by the free market according to the laws of supply and demand. Private slave-trading companies sold shares [in] Amsterdam, London and Paris #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

...until recently we lacked an understanding of how all of these apparently disparate features of human psychology [e.g., empathy, familiar love, anger, social disgust, friendship, minimal decency, gratitude, etc.] fit together and why they exist. #JoshuaGreene

...until recently we lacked an understanding of how all of these apparently disparate features of human psychology [e.g., empathy, familiar love, anger, social disgust, friendship, minimal decency, gratitude, etc.] fit together and why they exist. #JoshuaGreene — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

Baltasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a seventeenth-century guidebook by a Spanish Jesuit priest on how to retain one's integrity while navigating the halls of power. #DavidBrooks

Baltasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a seventeenth-century guidebook by a Spanish Jesuit priest on how to retain one's integrity while navigating the halls of power. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 17, 2025

The rewards of finding and maintaining balance are neither immediate nor permanent. They require patience and maintenance. We must be willing to move forward despite being uncertain of what lies ahead. #AnnaLembke

The rewards of finding and maintaining balance are neither immediate nor permanent. They require patience and maintenance. We must be willing to move forward despite being uncertain of what lies ahead. #AnnaLembke — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

The technological society is a system of domination. #CWrightMills

The technological society is a system of domination. #CWrightMills — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions. #BreneBrown

We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions. #BreneBrown — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

We know from myths and fairy tales that there are many different kinds of powers in the world. One child is given a light saber, another a wizard's education. The trick is not to amass all the different kinds of available power, but to use well the kind [granted]. #SusanCain

We know from myths and fairy tales that there are many different kinds of powers in the world. One child is given a light saber, another a wizard's education. The trick is not to amass all the different kinds of available power, but to use well the kind [granted]. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

Someone shouldn't be feted either because their sex acts are very kinky or because their number of partners is very low. It is cause for celebration whenever anyone is, to the best of their ability, making their own choices free from pressure #AngelaChen

Someone shouldn't be feted either because their sex acts are very kinky or because their number of partners is very low. It is cause for celebration whenever anyone is, to the best of their ability, making their own choices free from pressure #AngelaChen — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

[The good parent] knows that a child should be able to take [them] substantially for granted. The parents' reward for all their work won't be direct; it will arrive by noting, in many years' time, that their child has developed into a very good parent themselves. #TheSchoolOfLife

[The good parent] knows that a child should be able to take [them] substantially for granted. The parents' reward for all their work won't be direct; it will arrive by noting, in many years' time, that their child has developed into a very good parent themselves. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 16, 2025

...the development of the self may have been crucial to the development of human ultrasociality #JonathanHaidt

...the development of the self may have been crucial to the development of human ultrasociality #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

Stepfamilies were much more numerous in the past, the result of high death rates and frequent remarriages. #StephanieCoontz

Stepfamilies were much more numerous in the past, the result of high death rates and frequent remarriages. #StephanieCoontz — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

Philosophy teaches us and unsettles us by confronting us with what we already know #MichaelSandel

Philosophy teaches us and unsettles us by confronting us with what we already know #MichaelSandel — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

Nothing that a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu can experience--self-transcending love, ecstasy, bliss, inner light--constitutes evidence in support of their traditional beliefs, because their beliefs are logically incompatible with one another. #SamHarris

Nothing that a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu can experience--self-transcending love, ecstasy, bliss, inner light--constitutes evidence in support of their traditional beliefs, because their beliefs are logically incompatible with one another. #SamHarris — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

Death reorganises our priorities; it changes our scale of assessment #TheSchoolOfLife

Death reorganises our priorities; it changes our scale of assessment #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

A murder may with impunity be committed under his window; he has only to put his hands to his ears and argue a little with himself, to prevent nature, which is shocked within him, from identifying itself with the unfortunate sufferer. #JeanJacquesRousseau

A murder may with impunity be committed under his window; he has only to put his hands to his ears and argue a little with himself, to prevent nature, which is shocked within him, from identifying itself with the unfortunate sufferer. #JeanJacquesRousseau — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 15, 2025

Probably the truth is discoverable, but the facts will be so dishonestly set forth in almost any newspaper that the ordinary reader can be forgiven either for swallowing lies or for failing to form an opinion. #GeorgeOrwell

Probably the truth is discoverable, but the facts will be so dishonestly set forth in almost any newspaper that the ordinary reader can be forgiven either for swallowing lies or for failing to form an opinion. #GeorgeOrwell — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

After Darwin, human morality became a scientific mystery. Natural selection could explain how intelligent, upright, linguistic, not so hairy, bipedal primates could evolve, but where did our morals come from? Darwin himself was absorbed by this question. #JoshuaGreene

After Darwin, human morality became a scientific mystery. Natural selection could explain how intelligent, upright, linguistic, not so hairy, bipedal primates could evolve, but where did our morals come from? Darwin himself was absorbed by this question. #JoshuaGreene — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

Marshall McLuhan was harsh but not wrong when he observed, Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity. #DavidBrooks

Marshall McLuhan was harsh but not wrong when he observed, Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity. #DavidBrooks — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

Blaming and punishing others are superficial expressions of anger. #MarshallRosenberg

Blaming and punishing others are superficial expressions of anger. #MarshallRosenberg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

A logical fallacy is an invalid connection between a premise and a conclusion, where the conclusion does not necessarily flow from the premise(s) but is argued as if it does. #StevenNovella

A logical fallacy is an invalid connection between a premise and a conclusion, where the conclusion does not necessarily flow from the premise(s) but is argued as if it does. #StevenNovella — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

Furthermore, what fundamentally distinguishes adulthood from childhood is that the adult has access to a great many more sources of hope than the child. #TheSchoolOfLife

Furthermore, what fundamentally distinguishes adulthood from childhood is that the adult has access to a great many more sources of hope than the child. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 14, 2025

I hope you'll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. #JonathanHaidt

I hope you'll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 13, 2025

Sometimes, in this multifaceted world of ours, inconsistency can be more eloquent than consistency. #HarukiMurakami

Sometimes, in this multifaceted world of ours, inconsistency can be more eloquent than consistency. #HarukiMurakami — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 13, 2025

Human greatness and terribleness are not correlated with wealth or other conventional measures of success. #RayDalio

Human greatness and terribleness are not correlated with wealth or other conventional measures of success. #RayDalio — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 13, 2025

The research possibilities of new ideas, the interplay of ideas and facts, are not usually considered very important in putting accumulated detail into some sort of textbook order. #CWrightMills

The research possibilities of new ideas, the interplay of ideas and facts, are not usually considered very important in putting accumulated detail into some sort of textbook order. #CWrightMills — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 13, 2025

The same person who finds it difficult to introduce himself to strangers might establish a persence online and then extend these relationships into the real world. #SusanCain

The same person who finds it difficult to introduce himself to strangers might establish a persence online and then extend these relationships into the real world. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

If the problem is real, then the people who are best at solving the problem at hand should rise to the top. That is not power. It is the authority that properly accompanies ability. #JordanPeterson

If the problem is real, then the people who are best at solving the problem at hand should rise to the top. That is not power. It is the authority that properly accompanies ability. #JordanPeterson — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

To crush well is to realise that the lovely person we sketch in our heads is our creation: a creation that says more about us than about them. But what it says about us is important. The crush gives us access to our own ideals [our insight into who we really are] #TheSchoolOfLife

To crush well is to realise that the lovely person we sketch in our heads is our creation: a creation that says more about us than about them. But what it says about us is important. The crush gives us access to our own ideals [our insight into who we really are] #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. #MargaretMarshall

Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. #MargaretMarshall — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

Psychotherapists have developed a special term to capture what we inherit emotionally from the past: they call it our 'transference'. In their view, each of us is constantly at risk of 'transferring' patterns of behaviour and feeling from the past... #TheSchoolOfLife

Psychotherapists have developed a special term to capture what we inherit emotionally from the past: they call it our 'transference'. In their view, each of us is constantly at risk of 'transferring' patterns of behaviour and feeling from the past... #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

My answers may disturb the experts and women alike, for they imply social change. But there would be no sense [...] if I did not believe that women can affect society, as well as be affected by it; that, in the end, a woman, as a man, has the power to choose... #BettyFriedan

My answers may disturb the experts and women alike, for they imply social change. But there would be no sense [...] if I did not believe that women can affect society, as well as be affected by it; that, in the end, a woman, as a man, has the power to choose... #BettyFriedan — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 12, 2025

I never react to events in the outside world; I always react to the sensations in my own body. #YuvalNoahHarari

I never react to events in the outside world; I always react to the sensations in my own body. #YuvalNoahHarari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

Outsized regard for oneself is not the outcome of boundless self-love, it is the diseased flower of a terrified, self-doubting mind. #TheSchoolOfLife

Outsized regard for oneself is not the outcome of boundless self-love, it is the diseased flower of a terrified, self-doubting mind. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

Studies of former smokers found that identifying the cues and rewards they associate with cigarettes, and then choosing new routines that provide similar payoffs--a piece of Nicorette, a quick series of push-ups, or simply taking a few minutes to stretch and relax #CharlesDuhigg

Studies of former smokers found that identifying the cues and rewards they associate with cigarettes, and then choosing new routines that provide similar payoffs--a piece of Nicorette, a quick series of push-ups, or simply taking a few minutes to stretch and relax #CharlesDuhigg — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

I can be loved by my family, my mate, and my friends, and yet not love myself. I can be admired by my associates and yet regard myself as worthless. #NathanielBranden

I can be loved by my family, my mate, and my friends, and yet not love myself. I can be admired by my associates and yet regard myself as worthless. #NathanielBranden — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

Continuous growth and the consequent ever-increasing acceleration of the pace of life have profound consequences for the entire planet and, in particular, for cities, socioeconomic life, and the process of global urbanization. #GeoffreyWest

Continuous growth and the consequent ever-increasing acceleration of the pace of life have profound consequences for the entire planet and, in particular, for cities, socioeconomic life, and the process of global urbanization. #GeoffreyWest — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

BLAMING: Focusing on the other person as the source of your negative feelings; you refuse to take responsibility for changing yourself. She's to blame for the way I feel now, or My parents caused all my problems. #JonathanHaidt

BLAMING: Focusing on the other person as the source of your negative feelings; you refuse to take responsibility for changing yourself. She's to blame for the way I feel now, or My parents caused all my problems. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 11, 2025

Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. #ImmanuelKant

Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. #ImmanuelKant — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion. #SusanCain

When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer [...], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion. #SusanCain — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

I think evolutionary psychology has put too much emphasis on male resources instead of male fitness in explaining women's sexual preferences. #GeoffreyMiller

I think evolutionary psychology has put too much emphasis on male resources instead of male fitness in explaining women's sexual preferences. #GeoffreyMiller — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

You have to separate yourself--for increasing periods of time--from the sources of your distraction. It's a mistake, [Dr Larry Rosen] said, to try to monotask by force of will--because it's too hard to resist that informational tap on the shoulder. #JohannHari

You have to separate yourself--for increasing periods of time--from the sources of your distraction. It's a mistake, [Dr Larry Rosen] said, to try to monotask by force of will--because it's too hard to resist that informational tap on the shoulder. #JohannHari — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

In the face of an obstacle which it is impossible to overcome, stubbornness is stupid. If I persist in beating my fist against a stone wall, my freedom exhausts itself in this useless gesture without succeeding in giving itself a content. #SimonedeBeauvoir

In the face of an obstacle which it is impossible to overcome, stubbornness is stupid. If I persist in beating my fist against a stone wall, my freedom exhausts itself in this useless gesture without succeeding in giving itself a content. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

In most novels, as George Eliot observes, it is the dumb, blond heroine who outshines the virile brunette; and in The Mill on the Floss, Maggie tries in vain to reverse the roles; in the end she dies and it is blond Lucy who marries Stephen. #SimonedeBeauvoir

In most novels, as George Eliot observes, it is the dumb, blond heroine who outshines the virile brunette; and in The Mill on the Floss, Maggie tries in vain to reverse the roles; in the end she dies and it is blond Lucy who marries Stephen. #SimonedeBeauvoir — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 10, 2025

[Wordsworth] invited his readers to abandon their usual perspective and to consider for a time how the world might look through other eyes, to shuttle between the human and the natural perspective [...] unhappiness can stem from only having one perspective... #AlaindeBotton

[Wordsworth] invited his readers to abandon their usual perspective and to consider for a time how the world might look through other eyes, to shuttle between the human and the natural perspective [...] unhappiness can stem from only having one perspective... #AlaindeBotton — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 9, 2025

Depressed people are caught in a feedback loop in which distorted thoughts cause negative feelings, which then distort thinking further. #JonathanHaidt

Depressed people are caught in a feedback loop in which distorted thoughts cause negative feelings, which then distort thinking further. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 9, 2025

'Things which are not' are indeed mightier than 'things that are'. In all ages men have fought most desperately for beautiful cities yet to be built and gardens yet to be planted. #EricHoffer

'Things which are not' are indeed mightier than 'things that are'. In all ages men have fought most desperately for beautiful cities yet to be built and gardens yet to be planted. #EricHoffer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 9, 2025

Even when [the depressed, listless mother] is long gone, we remain people who need to shine at every meeting [...] and who cannot listen to negative or dispiriting information of any kind. We are living the wide open present through the narrow drama of the past. #TheSchoolOfLife

Even when [the depressed, listless mother] is long gone, we remain people who need to shine at every meeting [...] and who cannot listen to negative or dispiriting information of any kind. We are living the wide open present through the narrow drama of the past. #TheSchoolOfLife — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 9, 2025

There is a window of higher impressionability running from about age fourteen to twenty-four, with its peak right around age eighteen. #JonathanHaidt

There is a window of higher impressionability running from about age fourteen to twenty-four, with its peak right around age eighteen. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 9, 2025

Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now, always. #AlbertSchweitzer

Truth has no special time of its own. Its hour is now, always. #AlbertSchweitzer — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 8, 2025

When bad things happen to good people, we have a problem. We know consciously that life is unfair, but unconsciously we see the world through the lens of reciprocity. #JonathanHaidt

When bad things happen to good people, we have a problem. We know consciously that life is unfair, but unconsciously we see the world through the lens of reciprocity. #JonathanHaidt — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 8, 2025

You are more likely to learn something by finding surprises in your own behavior than by hearing surprising facts about people in general. #DanielKahneman

You are more likely to learn something by finding surprises in your own behavior than by hearing surprising facts about people in general. #DanielKahneman — English Quotes (@english_quotes) Nov 8, 2025

One loses everything when one loses one's sense of humor. #AynRand