Iris

“Most of us hide behind egocentric biases that generate the illusion that we are special.”
― Philip G. Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

“Guilt?” he remarked in prison. “It’s this mechanism we use to control people. It’s an illusion. It’s a kind of social control mechanism—and it’s very unhealthy. It does terrible things to our bodies. And there are much better ways to control our behavior than that rather extraordinary use of guilt.”
― Robert D. Hare, Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us

“Niceness is a decision, a strategy of social interaction; it is not a character trait.”
― Gavin de Becker, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

“A junkie spends half his life waiting.”
― William S. Burroughs, Junky