I think a lot of moral debates are not over what is the basis of justice, but who gets a ticket to play in the game.

Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind. Music depends on details of the auditory system, painting and sculpture on the visual system. Poetry and literature depend on language.

Why are empirical questions about how the mind works so weighted down with political and moral and emotional baggage?

All our behaviours are a result of neurophysiological activity in the brain. There is no reason to believe there is any magic going on.

I suspect music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of... our mental faculties.

Evolutionary psychology is one of four sciences that are bringing human nature back into the picture.

Thanks to the redundancy of language, yxx cxn xndxrstxnd whxt x xm wrxtxng xvxn xf x rxplxcx xll thx vxwxls wxth xn "x" (t gts lttl hrdr f y dn't vn kn whr th vwls r)

Photography is a kind of virtual reality, and it helps if you can create the illusion of being in an interesting world.

Plants can't very well defend themselves by their behavior, so they resort to chemical warfare, and plants are saturated with toxins and irritants to deter creatures like us who want to eat them.

I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious and fragile gift.

Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different.

Happiness is pleasure without regret

What you want is what you need. Your dearest wish comes straight from your core, loaded with vital information about who you are and who you can become.

Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.

I've never won an award for anything, and I think it's weird. I mean, that's really cool but it's strange to think you could get an award for acting. I always thought that was strange.

It is education that will arm us with the tools that will enable us to succeed and put a stop to the rising rates of preventable death.

Because my profession is the body, it is a relaxation for me to get out of physicality and concentrate on more mental things.

In movies, you just see somebody close their eyes, and you go on to the next scene.

The direction we're heading is more important than individual results.

I do feel a responsibility to address things that are problematic, but I don't have to go out of my way to do that.