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“If other people do not understand our behavior—so what? Their request that we must only do what they understand is an attempt to dictate to us. If this is being "asocial" or "irrational" in their eyes, so be it. Mostly they resent our freedom and our courage to be ourselves. We owe nobody an explanation or an accounting, as long as our acts do not hurt or infringe on them. How many lives have been ruined by this need to "explain," which usually implies that the explanation be "understood," i.e. approved. Let your deeds be judged, and from your deeds, your real intentions, but know that a free person owes an explanation only to himself—to his reason and his conscience—and to the few who may have a justified claim for explanation.”
― The Art of Being
― The Art of Being
“Morality doesn’t mean ‘following divine commands’. It means ‘reducing suffering’. Hence in order to act morally, you don’t need to believe in any myth or story. You just need to develop a deep appreciation of suffering.”
― 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
― 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
“in order to change an existing imagined order, we must first believe in an alternative imagined order.”
― Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
― Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
“Domesticated chickens and cattle may well be an evolutionary success story, but they are also among the most miserable creatures that ever lived. The domestication of animals was founded on a series of brutal practices that only became crueller with the passing of the centuries.”
― Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
― Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Payal’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Payal’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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