“There has never been a time at which Enlightenment values predominated in any culture. They have always faced pushback from forces that are embedded in human nature – tribalism, deference to authority, magical thinking, vulnerability to cognitive illusions and biases.”
— Steven Pinker
Cognitive Scientist & Psychologist Known for Research on Language and Human Nature

The quote archive

Justice

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

Meaningful and moral are different in an interesting sense; something can be meaningful, and yet be morally terrible. Adolf Eichmann was clearly engaged in what he thought was a meaningful pursuit, perhaps he was even in a state of flow, thinking that what he was doing was 'good' – even though he was the architect of the death of millions.

— Paul Bloom

Psychologist specializing in moral development and human nature research

We don't trust human beings to do things without being audited, and we're now getting AI to do those very same things without the same checks and balances.

— Daniel Huttenlocher

Dean of Cornell University's Blavatnik School of Engineering

When you're involved in conflict, you're not sane. You may start out being sane, and in those early stages it's certainly possible to mediate and arbitrate. Using those tools you often end up cutting the baby in half – you give a little, I give a little, you give a little more, I give a little more, and suddenly everyone is miserable.

— Judge Judith Sheindlin

Creator and star of TV show "Judge Judy" for 25 years

Society must demand that you comport yourself within a framework of rules. Once those rules break, society breaks down.

— Judge Judith Sheindlin

Creator and star of TV show "Judge Judy" for 25 years

There is a degree of laziness and political correctness which has crept into the justice system. Many judges are appointed not elected. They don't want to offend. Instead of making a decision, they 'cut the baby in half' and everyone is left being a little bit miserable. I don't like to cut the baby in half and while I can certainly see more grey areas in the world, my job as a judge is to say, 'you're right, and you're wrong…'

— Judge Judith Sheindlin

Creator and star of TV show "Judge Judy" for 25 years

All inequality is not created equal. An intersectional approach shows the way that people's social identities can overlap, creating compounding experiences of discrimination.

— Dr. Nina Ansary

Women in Iran are quite possibly the greatest threat to the regime, they are courageous and relentless in their pursuit of justice, human rights, and freedom from oppression and make the sacrifices needed to bring about change for future generations.

— Dr. Nina Ansary

Being authentic is a privilege. Not everyone has the ability or luxury to do this. Sometimes as leaders, we need to speak less and listen more, to make room for other voices to be centred. We rein in our authenticity by being more adaptive so others can fill this space with their authenticity.

— Ritu Bhasin

Canadian actress known for role in "Quantico" TV series

Rape is one of the oldest weapons of war and it remains so to this day. For too long, it has been viewed as an 'unfortunate' side effect of war. But really, it is a tactic. The truth is that stable societies are built on the backs of women.

— Nadia Murad

Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Yazidi Genocide Survivor Advocate

Beyond the atrocities of mass murder and rape, ISIS also set out to systematically destroy the Yazidi community by ensuring that we did not have the resources to survive in our homeland. They poisoned wells, burned farms, took out electrical grids, and destroyed schools, homes, temples, and hospitals.

— Nadia Murad

Nobel Peace Prize Winner & Yazidi Genocide Survivor Advocate

Young people see philanthropy and change completely differently – they don't support charities in the same way as I do, but they campaign and that's perhaps more valuable. The money is less important now, and the drive is the focus, the talking, the doing.

— Dame Stephanie Shirley

Pioneering Software Engineer & Founder of Freelance Programmers Ltd

Looking back, there were two things that made change possible for me. Firstly, I lived the change. My company was a way of, as they say, 'scratching my own itch.' I wanted to be able to go on working myself, and I realised that a lot of other women would have had comparable aims and desires.

— Dame Stephanie Shirley

Pioneering Software Engineer & Founder of Freelance Programmers Ltd

Some political conversations are necessary, think about conversations on race or gender, there aren't 'sides' to take when we're talking about human dignity. Instead of focusing on trying to change someone's mind, we can focus on speaking from a place of curiosity. Trying to change other people is a fool's errand – we can have some influence on how people behave, but if your goal is to change their mind, you're setting yourself up for failure.

— Amy Gallo

Harvard Business Review contributor & workplace dynamics expert

Russia always seemed to me to have a problem accepting that you have to listen to the voice of smaller countries. Russia often seemed simply to assume that you get what you want if you're bigger, and more powerful.

— Simon Smith

If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, it will show that democracy and the world's forces are not enough to stop him. Are we building a world where the rule of law means something? Or a world where the rule of law means nothing, and only firepower counts.

— Kira Rudik

Ukrainian politician and head of Servant of the People party faction

We can prove, with over 150 companies we've invested in – that you can simultaneously create value for the investor, and society. The reality is this- you can create value economically and socially in parallel – there isn't a contradiction.

— Mitchell Kapor

Founder of Lotus Development Corporation & Digital Pioneer