Skip to content

When Hobbes referred to the dire state of human beings in having ‘nasty, brutish and short’ lives, he also pointed, in the same sentence, to the disturbing adversity of being ‘solitary’. Escape from isolation may not only be important for the quality of human life, it can also contribute powerfully to understanding and responding to the other deprivations from which human beings suffer. There is surely a basic strength here which is complementary to the engagement in which theories of justice are involved.

— Amartya Sen The Idea of Justice (2009)

Another quote →

More quotes by Amartya Sen

Globalization is not in itself a folly: It has enriched the world scientifically and culturally and benefited many people economically as well.

To ask how things are going and whether they can be improved is a constant and inescapable part of the pursuit of justice.

The Idea of Justice (2009)

People's identities as Indians, as Asians, or as members of the human race seemed to give way — quite suddenly — to sectarian identification with Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh communities.

No less importantly, intellectual probing is needed to identify deeds that are not intended to be injurious, but which have that effect...

The Idea of Justice (2009)

Being smarter may help the understanding not only of one’s self-interest, but also how the lives of others can be strongly affected by one’s own actions.

The Idea of Justice (2009)

All Amartya Sen quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Amartya Sen (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.