If western culture is shown to be rich, it is because, even before the Enlightenment, it has tried to 'dissolve' harmful simplifications through inquiry and the critical mind.

As a scholar I am interested in the philosophy of language, semiotics, call it what you want, and one of the main features of the human language is the possibility of lying.

It is sometimes hard to grasp the difference between identifying with one's own roots, understanding people with other roots, and judging what is good or bad.

It is clear that when you write a story that takes place in the past, you try to show what really happened in those times. But you are always moved by the suspicion that you are also showing something about our contemporary world.

The intimate contest for self-command never ends, and lifetime happiness requires finding the right balance between present impulses and future well-being.

I thought happiness came from achievement.

Disappointment is a sticky one, because no one can steal contentment, joy, gratitude, or peace - we have to give it away.

I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy.