With violence, as with so many other concerns, human nature is the problem, but human nature is also the solution.

An ideology can provide a satisfying narrative that explains chaotic events and collective misfortunes in a way that flatters the virtue and competence of believers, while being vague or conspiratorial enough to withstand skeptical scrutiny.

Sex and excretion are reminders that anyone's claim to round-the-clock dignity is tenuous. The so-called rational animal has a desperate drive to pair up and moan and writhe.

Unfortunately, creative people are at their most creative when writing their autobiographies.

M.I.T. has a reputation for turning out Dilberts. They may be brilliant in what they do, but no one can understand what they say.

People consider the harms they inflict to be justified and forgettable, and the harms they suffer to be unprovoked and grievous.

One of the perks of being a psychologist is access to tools that allow you to carry out the injunction to know thyself.