Philosophy is an odd thing... There is no particular Socratic or Dimechian or Kantian way to live your life. They don't offer ethical codes and standards by which to live your life.

Nature admits no hierarchy of beauty or usefulness or importance.

I'm afraid I don't believe there is such a thing as blasphemy, just outrage from those insecure in their own faith.

I don't watch television, I think it destroys the art of talking about oneself.

Better sexy and racy Than sexist and racist

It's not all bad. Heightened self-consciousness, apartness, an inability to join in, physical shame and self-loathing—they are not all bad. Those devils have been my angels. Without them I would never have disappeared into language, literature, the mind, laughter and all the mad intensities that made and unmade me.

A cousin of mine who was a casualty surgeon in Manhattan tells me that he and his colleagues had a one-word nickname for bikers: Donors. Rather chilling.