#thy

Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared. ↗

— J.K. Rowling

#imagination #innovation #invention #experience

As we tell stories about the lives of others, we learn how to imagine what another creature might feel in response to various events. At the same time, we identify with the other creature and learn something about ourselves. ↗

— Martha C. Nussbaum

#imagination

I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The discussion about human evolution might not revolve as much around violence, warfare and male dominance, but rather around sexuality, empathy, caring and cooperation. What a different intellectual landscape we would occupy! ↗

— Frans de Waal

#cooperation #empathy #evolution #frans-de-waal #male-dominance

After all, if you do not resist the apparently inevitable, you will never know how inevitable the inevitable was. ↗

— Terry Eagleton

#capitalism #inevitability #inspirational #marxism #resistance

Anguish is the universal language ↗

— Alice Fulton

#empathy #inspiration #language #understanding #inspirational

The family came in to select the arrangements they wanted. The woman whose husband had died was struggling dearly to keep her voice intact long enough to place the order. It wasn't long before she broke down. Wendy didn't say a word. She moved from behind the counter to find a chair for the woman. She eased her into it. She sat beside her and let her cry. Quiet, not speaking. She brought tissues when the moment asked for it. The woman's crying slowly came to a stop. She wiped her eyes, and she looked at Wendy. And she smiled. Just a little one. And she said, "Thank you. ↗

— Christian Millman

#sympathy #family

It was not apathy. It was an intelligent disinterest in those things that could have no bearing on one's existence. ↗

— Tanith Lee

#intelligence

I couldn’t think of anyone I’d ever felt sorry for. There were plenty of kids I was envious of. There were others I achingly admired, but that might simply be another form of jealousy. Then there were those I feared, dreaded. And the worst of them, the man who shamed me. I could see my father’s angry features looming over my mother. I could clearly picture her beside him in his truck, cowering against the door while he belittled and assaulted her. I guess I did know someone I felt sorry for. ↗

— Richelle E. Goodrich

#empathy #envy #jealousy #pity #richelle

He had been dazzled. Because of the dazzling brightness, he had had to kill [Seigen]. All who had encountered Seigen had had their hearts stolen by that brightness. That envy had turned to malice. ↗

— Takayuki Yamaguchi

#antipathy #enemies #envy #heart #human-nature

I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don't read can sometimes lack. I know it seems like a contradiction in terms; after all reading is such a solitary, internalizing act that it appears to represent a disengagement from day-to-day life. But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction, encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways...It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another which is a precursor to empathy, and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being. ↗

— John Connolly

#inspirational #reading #inspirational