Epicurus was not at all interested in what we would call the problems of mass society, and he thought civic politics was just trouble and to be avoided by the wise.

The Epicureans denied that the gods had created the world and also denied that they played any role in it.

The higher the coefficient of inequality (Gini coefficient) in a society, the worse things tend to be for those at the bottom.

I have to say that some philosophers such as the late Bernard Williams, and I would include myself in this group, would say that tranquillity is overrated as the goal of life.

We have to gamble, and sometimes lose as George Ainslie argues; this keeps the appetite for life sharp.

'Contract' succeeded 'status' as the basic organising principle in modern political vs. ancient society.

Atomism had no absolute 'above' and 'below' and no such rulers, so favoured the undersranding of justice as an agreement amongst equals.

Epicurus thought of justice as an agreement to prevent people harming and being harmed.

Claims like 'Slavery is wrong' are not fully common-sensical, so they must be at least partly theoretical.

The (atomic) soul is mortal, and the best life is the one with the least pain and the most pleasure.

I think we do have a better understanding now of how moral thought and discourse function.

All of us, all living things, have the potential to change.

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.

I am a great wife.

Never bullshit a bullshitter.

there's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst.

To be alive at all involves some risk.

I hit rock bottom, but thank God my bottom wasn't death.

I feel like I have a bowling ball sitting on my hoohah! Apparently I have a lot of amniotic fluid, so whenever my water breaks it will be like a fire hydrant!

I mean I grew up in Ireland, so one would have to be consciously blinkered not to have reflected on the issue of political violence because that was the story since I was 19 years old or 20.

The General was essentially a man of peace, except in his domestic life.