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#human-nature
Explore Books, Authors and Common Highlights on Human-nature
Showing 100 of 140 highlights
The culture we live in shapes our moral intuitions.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
God's biography is a tale of a being who is infinitely complex yet intimately human.
From God: A Biography by Jack Miles
We are all hedgehogs and foxes, and our lives are a constant struggle between the two.
Every civilization is a potential threat.
From The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Human beings are creatures of custom and habit.
From The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
We are all a little bit cancerous.
Every human being is a philosopher.
From Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
The thrill of deception can be intoxicating.
From The Forger's Spell by Edward Dolnick
The history of information is the history of the human mind.
From The Information by James Gleick
The truth is that we are wired for struggle, but we are also wired for resilience.
From Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Ambiguity is the very essence of the human condition.
The tension between the hedgehog and the fox captures the essence of human thought.
The biology of human behavior is one of the most complex subjects in science, and yet it is fundamentally simple.
Most men would rather die than think. Many do.
Artificial intelligence cannot replicate human understanding.
From The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose
We have the capacity for both good and evil, and it is our choices that define us.
Choice is the essence of what it means to be human.
Human beings have an innate capacity for both violence and compassion.
Understand that people are wired very differently.
From Principles by Ray Dalio
In the end, the bomb was a product of human ingenuity and folly.
Wealth doesn’t just buy luxury; it creates a narrative.
In times of crisis, the true character of a person is revealed.
From The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel
Our capacity for altruism is as much a part of our biology as our capacity for violence.
We are all just one accident away from being a cadaver.
The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters.
From The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
Every part of the body is a sign of evolution.
The capacity to solve problems is what defines us as humans.
Creativity is an essential aspect of human intelligence.
From The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose
Sex is a vital part of human nature.
From The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
In every real man, a child is hidden that wants to play.
Humans are not wired to be rational.
By studying children, we can gain insights into the very nature of human knowledge.
From The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik
Trade has always been the engine of human progress.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
In every generation, there are those who seek to simplify the world.
To be human is to be filled with desire.
Humans think in stories rather than in numbers.
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
From The Republic of Plato by Allan Bloom
Ethics is the compass that guides human behavior.
From The Dream of Reason by Anthony Gottlieb
The ability to create and believe in shared myths is what makes us unique.
Creativity is a fundamental aspect of human intelligence.
From The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose
The quest for alignment is as much about understanding human nature as it is about technology.
From The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian
Human beings are not rational creatures; they are rationalizing creatures.
Each religion, in its own way, is a response to the fundamental questions of human existence.
From The World's Religions by Huston Smith
Our brains evolved to navigate a world of social complexity.
Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.
From The Odyssey by Homer
We are not designed to be impartial, objective, or rational.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.
In their own way, they all sought the same thing: belonging.
There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do.
From The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Knowledge advances by the follies of mankind.
Rebellion is the struggle of being human.
From The Rebel by Albert Camus
The history of religion is the history of human kind’s relationship with the divine.
From The Evolution of God by Robert Wright
The concept of God has evolved throughout history, reflecting humanity's changing fears and aspirations.
From A History of God by Karen Armstrong
Our ancestors were not trapped by their biology; they were able to change it.
The brain is a social organ, and so a key part of being human is being social.
We are all beautifully complex beings trying to navigate this world.
From More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
We are all a little mad, some of us just hide it better than others.
The line between good and evil is often blurred by circumstances beyond our control.
Rebellion is the way of the human being.
From The Rebel by Albert Camus
Men are more often the victims of their own ideas than of their circumstances.
People are inherently social creatures; we cannot escape the influence of others.
People often prefer to appear moral rather than to actually be moral.
Every element has a story, just like every person.
From The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
We are not as rational as we think we are.
The better angels of our nature are the empathic emotions that restrain violence.
We are the product of our biology, our environment, and our culture.
Understanding the dark sides of human nature is essential.
Human intelligence is not merely a product of data; it involves complex reasoning.
Human bodies are remarkably adaptable, in life and in death.
Our brains evolved to navigate social complexities.
Empathy is a powerful force for peace.
To understand the way we move, we must look at the way we evolved.
From Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Beware of those in whom the urge to punish is strong.
People are more motivated by their emotions than by their logic.
The desire for power is a constant factor in human behavior.
Humans are wired to connect and compete.
From The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
Human beings are not just consumers; they are creators.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
In times of crisis, people often revert to their spiritual roots.
War is one of the constants of history, and it is the most expensive of all human activities.
The human body is a curious thing; it is both fragile and resilient.
The elephant in the brain is our hidden motives.
The tension between the hedgehog and the fox reflects the complexity of human thought.
The grocery store is a microcosm of the world, reflecting both the beauty and the absurdity of human life.
The world is full of foolish people, and it’s easy to be one of them.
Understanding the spread of disease requires a broader view of human behavior.
From The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
Desire is the greatest of all passions.
The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe.
To err is human, but to achieve perfection is the goal of every engineer.
There is no such thing as an unphilosophical man.
Humans are not primarily rational creatures.
To understand poison, you must understand the human condition.
We often think we are more rational than we actually are.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
A man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.
From The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The passions can lead us to act in ways that are contrary to our best interests.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
From The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
We are not just thinking machines; we are feeling machines that think.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
The mind of a child is a window into the mysteries of human nature.
From The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik
The great transformation occurred when human beings began to take responsibility for their actions and their world.
Human beings are always trying to make a better world.