“Most men appear to think that the art of despotic government is statesmanship, and what men affirm to be unjust and inexpedient in their own case they are not ashamed of practicing towards others; they demand just rule for themselves, but where other men are concerned they care nothing about it. Such behavior is irrational; unless the one party is, and the other is not, born to serve, in which case men have a right to command, not indeed all their fellows, but only those who are intended to be subjects; just as we ought not to hunt mankind, whether for food or sacrifice . .” ThinkingMenArtGovernmentCareBornPartyCasesSacrificeSubjectsMankindHuman NatureOughtDemandBehaviorConcernedFellowsCommandAshamedIrrationalUnjustHuntsStatesmanshipCommand Not Author:Aristotle
“Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make an exception to a recognized duty out of self-preference. The universalizability test is supposed help the agent to see, in a particular case of moral judgment, that self-preference is not a satisfactory reason for exempting yourself from a duty you recognize. Kant thinks, as a matter of human nature, that this situation arises often enough and that we need a canon of judgment to guard against it.” ThinkingNeedsHumansSelfMatterReasonEnoughHelpingSituationMoralCasesSpecialHuman NatureParticularDutyJudgmentTestsRegardFocusedAriseAgentsExceptionPreferenceTemptedMaximsCanonMoral Judgment Author:Allen W. Wood
“You sit up there, and you see the whole gamut of human nature. Even if the case being argued involves only a little fellow and $50, it involves justice. That's what is important.” IfsHumansLittlesImportantWholeNatureJusticeCasesHuman NatureFellowsOwners Author:Earl Warren
“Life is one long struggle between conclusions based on abstract ways of conceiving cases, and opposite conclusions prompted by our instinctive perception of them.” WayLongLife IsCasesStruggleHuman NaturePerceptionRespectOppositesAdversityConclusionAbstractConceiving Book:The Principles of Psychology Source: The Principles of Psychology
“If you will think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a by-product, and any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will become a selfish prig.” PeopleIfsThinkingMenInspirationalCharacterCareCasesHuman NatureProductsOughtTake CareSelfishServingServing OthersCultivationBuilding Character Book:Selected Addresses and Public Papers of Woodrow Wilson Source: Selected Addresses and Public Papers of Woodrow Wilson
“The pilots I worked with in the aerospace industry were willing to put on almost anything to keep them safe in case of a crash, but regular people in cars don't want to be uncomfortable even for a minute.” PeopleWantScienceCasesMinutesCarHuman NatureWillingIndustrySafeSafetyUncomfortablePilotsCrashAerospace Author:Nils Bohlin
“. .we would have to say that hereditary succession is harmful. You may say the king, having sovereign power, will not in that case hand over to his children. But it is hard to believe that: it is a difficult achievement, which expects too much virtue of human nature.” BelieveHumansMayChildrenHardHandsPoliticalDifficultCasesVirtueToo MuchHuman NatureKingsAchievementSovereignSuccessionHard To BelieveHereditary Author:Aristotle
“We like to think there is this core of human nature – that good people can't do bad things, and that good people will dominate over bad situations. Infact, when we look at the Stanford prison studies, that we put good people in an evil place, and we saw who won. Well, the sad message in this, is in this case is the evil place won over the good people.” PeopleThinkingHumansWellsLooksEvilSituationCasesStudySawsHuman NatureMessagesPrisonCoreBad ThingsGood PeopleStanfordBad Situations Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Self-deception is a defining part of our human nature. By recognizing its various forms in ourselves and reflecting upon them, we may be able to disarm them and even, in some cases, to employ and enjoy them. This self-knowledge opens up a whole new world before us, rich in beauty and subtlety, and frees us not only to take the best out of it, but also to give it back the best of ourselves, and, in so doing, to fulfil our potential as human beings. I don't really think it's a choice.” ThinkingWorldGivingHumansMaySelfWholeAbleFormChoicesEnjoyHuman BeingsCasesRichHuman NatureVariousDeceptionNew WorldSelf KnowledgeRecognizingDefiningReflectingSelf DeceptionSubtletyReflecting Upon Author:Neel Burton
“It is usually the case with most men that their nature is so constituted that they pity those who fare badly and envy those who fare well.” MenWellsCasesHuman NatureEnvyPity Author:Baruch Spinoza