On many issues, empathy can pull us in the wrong direction. The outrage that comes from adopting the perspective of a victim can drive an appetite for retribution. Paul Bloom adoptappetitedirection Change image and share on social
The genetic you and the neural you aren't alternatives to the conscious you. They are its foundations. Paul Bloom alternativeconsciousfoundation Change image and share on social
In politics and in society, we can use our reason to rise above our parochial natures. Too bad that our elected officials don't choose to do so more often. Paul Bloom badchooseelect Change image and share on social
We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral sense. Paul Bloom beingdegradeenhance Change image and share on social
Perhaps looking out through big baby eyes - if we could - would not be as revelatory experience as many imagine. We might see a world inhabited by objects and people, a world infused with causation, agency, and morality - a world that would surprise us not by its freshness but by its familiarity. Paul Bloom agencybabybig share on social
You'd expect, as good Darwinian creatures, we would evolve to be fascinated with how the world really is, and we would use language to convey real-world information, we'd be obsessed with knowing the way things are, and we would entirely reject stories that aren't true. They're useless. But that's not the way we work. Paul Bloom conveycreaturedarwinian share on social