Sublime

We also have the ability, under special circumstances, to shut down our petty selves and become like cells in a larger body, or like bees in a hive, working for the good of the group.

si les foules se livrent souvent à de bas instincts, elles donnent aussi parfois l'exemple d'actes de moralité élevés. Si le désintéressement, la résignation, le dévouement absolu à un idéal chimérique ou réel sont des vertus morales, on peut dire que les foules possèdent souvent ces vertus-là à un degré que les plus sages des philosophes ont rarem

Every one of us is a beneficiary of the public goods of societies past. These grand projects humble us. Cathedrals, great canals, sanitation, the expansion of mass literacy—they tell us that the "goodness" of a public good is also measured in terms of its longevity. To match these great works, we must extend our time horizon. We want to e

Such communal generosity might seem incompatible with the process of evolution, which invokes the imperative of individual survival. But we make a grave error if we try to separate individual well-being from the health of the whole.

“According to my moral outlook, we do not have the right to discriminate against even one Arab child, even if such discrimination would obtain for us all that we seek,”

In one recent experiment, for example, two groups of subjects were given a sum of money and instructed to spend it all in the next 24 hours.58 One randomly selected group was asked to spend the money on themselves; the second was told to spend it on others in need. When the subjects were tested a day or two later, those who gave to others were sign

“That which isn’t good for the hive, isn’t good for the bee.” —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS

we need to be impartial in our commitment to partiality: If it is okay for me to feed my child before I feed yours, it is equally okay for you to feed yours before mine. If I am entitled to my partial loves and commitments, then so too are you.