“Feelings are self-justifying, with a set of perceptions and "proofs" all their own.”
Source: Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995), p. 295
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Daniel Goleman 13
American psychologist & journalist 1946Related quotes

“The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness.”
Source: The Sign of Four

Source: What is Anthropology? (2nd ed., 2017), Ch. 9 : Social Identity

Source: Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912), L. Coser, trans. (1973), p. 74

“A quest for self-respect is proof of its lack”
Source: The Fountainhead

“Mathematics… is the set of all possible self-consistent structures”
Source: Hyperspace (1995), Ch.15 Conclusion<!--p.328-->
Context: Mathematics... is the set of all possible self-consistent structures, and there are vastly more logical structures than physical principles.

In a letter to Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers (14 May 1826), defending Chevalier d'Angos against presumption of guilt (by Johann Franz Encke and others), of having falsely claimed to have discovered a comet in 1784; as quoted in Calculus Gems (1992) by George F. Simmons

AV Club interview http://www.avclub.com/article/stephen-colbert-13970, (25 January 2006)
Context: Truthiness is tearing apart our country, and I don't mean the argument over who came up with the word. I don't know whether it's a new thing, but it's certainly a current thing, in that it doesn't seem to matter what facts are. It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It's certainty. People love the president because he's certain of his choices as a leader, even if the facts that back him up don't seem to exist. It's the fact that he's certain that is very appealing to a certain section of the country. I really feel a dichotomy in the American populace. What is important? What you want to be true, or what is true?