I have to say that some philosophers such as the late Bernard Williams, and I would include myself in this group, would say that tranquillity is overrated as the goal of life.

The Epicureans denied that the gods had created the world and also denied that they played any role in it.

The higher the coefficient of inequality (Gini coefficient) in a society, the worse things tend to be for those at the bottom.

We have to gamble, and sometimes lose as George Ainslie argues; this keeps the appetite for life sharp.

'Contract' succeeded 'status' as the basic organising principle in modern political vs. ancient society.

Atomism had no absolute 'above' and 'below' and no such rulers, so favoured the undersranding of justice as an agreement amongst equals.

Epicurus thought of justice as an agreement to prevent people harming and being harmed.

Epicurus was not at all interested in what we would call the problems of mass society, and he thought civic politics was just trouble and to be avoided by the wise.

Claims like 'Slavery is wrong' are not fully common-sensical, so they must be at least partly theoretical.

The (atomic) soul is mortal, and the best life is the one with the least pain and the most pleasure.

I think we do have a better understanding now of how moral thought and discourse function.

Maybe everyone is just waiting for someone else to save them.

Sometimes you have to wonder until you start to wonder why you are even wondering.

The amount of gold someone has is never the issue, but rather the love of it and the want of more for personal gain that consumes the hearts of many good people.

God's idea of guarding his heart is to guard himself against diminishing love. He guards his love. Now if that doesn't become revolutionary I am not saying it right.

We intend to leave it without further discussion. We respect this request by the government of Uzbekistan

Dreams are of no value if they don't have wings and feet.

But I never get attracted to fans cause the eager beaver could be the collapse of a dam

That's how we build the economy of the future. An economy with more jobs and less debt, we root it in fairness. We grow it with opportunity. And we build it together.

I return my tax bill without paying it. My reason for doing so is that women suffer taxation yet have not representation.

The Orange Revolution was a powerful example of democracy around the world. The people of Ukraine are continuing to shape their own future.