#human-nature
Explore Books, Authors and Common Highlights on Human-nature
Showing 100 of 140 highlights
The camp is a microcosm of our society.
Most men would rather die than think. Many do.
The market is a reflection of human psychology.
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
The desire for power is a constant factor in human behavior.
We are all a little mad, some of us just hide it better than others.
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
In every real man, a child is hidden that wants to play.
The brain is a social organ, and so a key part of being human is being social.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
The truth is that we are wired for struggle, but we are also wired for resilience.
From Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Rebellion is the struggle of being human.
From The Rebel by Albert Camus
We underestimate the power of human ingenuity.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
By studying children, we can gain insights into the very nature of human knowledge.
From The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik
Human beings are drawn to the transcendent, but this search can lead to conflict.
From Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong
Aggression is often a result of social context rather than an innate trait.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Human intelligence is not merely a product of data; it involves complex reasoning.
Our ancestors were not trapped by their biology; they were able to change it.
From Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Knowledge advances by the follies of mankind.
The great transformation occurred when human beings began to take responsibility for their actions and their world.
Every element has a story, just like every person.
From The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
The better angels of our nature are the empathic emotions that restrain violence.
In times of crisis, people often revert to their spiritual roots.
The world is full of foolish people, and it’s easy to be one of them.
If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.
Human beings have an innate capacity for both violence and compassion.
To err is human, but to achieve perfection is the goal of every engineer.
From The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester
We are all beautifully complex beings trying to navigate this world.
From More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Rebellion is the way of the human being.
From The Rebel by Albert Camus
The grocery store is a microcosm of the world, reflecting both the beauty and the absurdity of human life.
The study of magic is the study of human psychology.
From The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
Ethics is the compass that guides human behavior.
From The Dream of Reason by Anthony Gottlieb
Human bodies are remarkably adaptable, in life and in death.
From Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The human body is a curious thing; it is both fragile and resilient.
From Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
In the end, the bomb was a product of human ingenuity and folly.
The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters.
From The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
The ability to create and believe in shared myths is what makes us unique.
From Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Human beings are creatures of custom and habit.
From The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
To understand the way we move, we must look at the way we evolved.
From Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Understanding the dark sides of human nature is essential.
We are all mad here; some of us are just better at hiding it.
We are all intuitive and we reason to justify our intuitions.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Human beings are not rational creatures; they are rationalizing creatures.
The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
We have the capacity for both good and evil, and it is our choices that define us.
To be human is to be filled with desire.
From The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Human beings are not just consumers; they are creators.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
People are inherently selfish and driven by their own interests.
The quest for meaning is an integral part of being human.
From The Case for God by Karen Armstrong
We are not the most powerful species on Earth; we are the most cooperative.
From Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
We are not designed to be impartial, objective, or rational.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Men are more often the victims of their own ideas than of their circumstances.
Empathy is a powerful force that can drive both altruistic and destructive behavior.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Creativity is a fundamental aspect of human intelligence.
From The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose
Some of the greatest acts of kindness and compassion are motivated by the most selfish of reasons.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
The tension between the hedgehog and the fox captures the essence of human thought.
To understand poison, you must understand the human condition.
From The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
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 a remarkable species, capable of incredible inventions and innovations.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
There is no such thing as a purely rational act.
From The Rebel by Albert Camus
The concept of God has evolved throughout history, reflecting humanity's changing fears and aspirations.
From A History of God by Karen Armstrong
The mind of a child is a window into the mysteries of human nature.
From The Philosophical Baby by Alison Gopnik
In every generation, there are those who seek to simplify the world.
Understand that people are wired very differently.
From Principles by Ray Dalio
We are the product of our biology, our environment, and our culture.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Understanding the spread of disease requires a broader view of human behavior.
From The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
The capacity to solve problems is what defines us as humans.
Wealth doesn’t just buy luxury; it creates a narrative.
From Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden
People often prefer to appear moral rather than to actually be moral.
From The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
The biology of human behavior is one of the most complex subjects in science, and yet it is fundamentally simple.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Human beings are always trying to make a better world.
Desire is the greatest of all passions.
The ambiguous nature of man reveals itself in the fact that he is both the subject and the object of his own action.
We often think we are more rational than we actually are.
From The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
The thrill of deception can be intoxicating.
From The Forger's Spell by Edward Dolnick
Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.
From The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
People are more motivated by their emotions than by their logic.
To see like a state is to impose a uniformity that often disregards the diverse realities of human existence.
From Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
A man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.
From The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Violence is not inherent to religion, but can be an outcome of human interpretation.
From Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong
The myths are the dreams of the people.
From The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
Our capacity for violence is matched only by our capacity for love.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe.
The experience of the sacred is a fundamental aspect of human life.
Every decision we make is influenced by a myriad of factors that we often don't even recognize.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Each religion, in its own way, is a response to the fundamental questions of human existence.
From The World's Religions by Huston Smith
Humans are wired to connect and compete.
From The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
Trade has always been the engine of human progress.
From The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
Humans think in stories rather than in numbers.
From Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
We are all hedgehogs and foxes, and our lives are a constant struggle between the two.
Choice is the essence of what it means to be human.
People are inherently social creatures; we cannot escape the influence of others.
Our brains evolved to navigate social complexities.
From The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
War is one of the constants of history, and it is the most expensive of all human activities.
The truth, though it may be concealed, will always find a way to reveal itself.
Beware of those in whom the urge to punish is strong.
Our brains evolved to navigate a world of social complexity.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
To truly understand human behavior, we must look beyond the individual and consider the societal context.
From Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky