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Human Nature Quotes

Browse 4693 quotes about Human Nature.

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Human Nature Quotes

“Democracy must stand or fall on a platform of possible human perfectibility. If human nature cannot be improved by institutions, democracy is at best a more than usually safe form of political organization . . . . But if it is to work better as well as merely longer, it must have some leavening effect on human nature; and the sincere democrat is obliged to assume the power of the leaven. [Progressive]”

IfsHumansWellsFormPoliticalFallDemocracyEffectsHuman NatureSafeOrganizationInstitutionsAssumingDemocratSincereProgressivePlatformsObliged
Book:The Promise of American Life
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“If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.”

PeopleIfsMenYearsLooksHas BeensDoneEarthIndividualEnergyAnswersPayGreaterLandHuman NatureGeniusDignityAvailableAssuredUnwillingUnleashed
Author:Ronald Reagan
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“If I can, by a lucky chance, in these uneasy days, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sadness; if I can, how and then, prompt a happier view of human nature, and make my reader more in good humor with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, I shall not have written in vain.”

IfsHumansHeartI CanMomentsCareChanceViewsWrittenSadnessHuman NatureInspirational LifeReaderLuckyFellowsHeavyVainWrinklesBrowsUneasyPromptsGood HumorHeavy Heart
Author:Washington Irving
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“The field of earth and of our human nature is now no longer barren but full of the seed of divine life. But it takes time for the seed to grow, for the Kingdom to come, and we are commanded to pray and work for that coming, that growth, even if we do not yet see the fruits, or even the blossoms, or even the leaves...”

IfsHumansInspirationEarthFaithGrowsGrowthHuman NatureFieldsDivinePrayingFruitSeedsChristian InspirationalKingdomsTake TimeBarrenIt Takes TimeDivine Life
Author:Peter Kreeft
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“Yes. The way people behave, the paradoxes, the contradictions. All these things we have to live with and still pretend that everything is only black or white. That, I think, is the most interesting thing in human nature. The fact that we have to do one thing and pretend something else. That’s when it becomes very interesting. If you can literally speak the way you feel, then it’s not interesting anymore. It’s when you have to lie that it becomes interesting.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWayFeelsHumansStillsFactsLyingSpeakBlackWhiteInterestingOne ThingHuman NatureBehaveContradictionParadoxVery InterestingMost InterestingInteresting ThingsBlack Or White
Author:Vincent Cassel
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“Our life as consumers seems light years away from that of our grandparents. But you don't change human nature. Optimism, for me, is the belief that we can spread the opportunity for everyone to be fully human. Sustainability, like music, is an impulse to make sense of the world around us. It is core to our humanity. If you only like one composer, or think all the best music has already been written, you have reason for pessimism. If not, it is within us to have good reason for hope”

IfsThinkingWorldYearsHumansReasonLightSeemsHumanityOpportunityBeliefVisionOur LivesWrittenHuman NatureFutureMusic IsOptimismSpreadCoreConsumersImpulseMake SensePessimismComposerSustainabilityGrandparentDon't ChangeSustainable DevelopmentAll The BestLight Years
Author:Ed Mayo
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“The lower animals, on the other hand, must have their bodily structure modified in order to survive under greatly changed conditions. They must be rendered stronger, or acquire more effective teeth or claws, in order to defend themselves from new enemies; or they must be reduced in size so as to escape detection and danger. When they migrate into a colder climate they must become clothed with thicker fur, or have their constitutions altered. If they fail to be thus modified, they will cease to exist.”

IfsHandsOrderAnimalEnemyFailingConditionsHuman NatureDangerChangedConstitutionStrongerStructureClimateSizeCeaseTeethAcquireAlteredFurClawsDetectionMigrate
Book:The origin of species by means of natural selection: The descent of man and selection in relation to sex
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“A too great disproportion among the citizens weakens any state. Every person, if possible, ought to enjoy the fruits of his labour, in a full possession of all the necessities, and many of the conveniences of life. No one can doubt, but such an equality is most suitable to human nature, and diminishes much less from the happiness of the rich than it adds to that of the poor.”

IfsHumansPersonsStatesPoliticalEnjoyPoorRichDoubtHuman NatureOughtCitizensAddFruitPossessionLabourDiminishConvenienceSuitable
Book:Philosophical Essays: On Morals, Literature, and Politics
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“If therefore my work is negative, irreligious, atheistic, let it be remembered that atheism — at least in the sense of this work — is the secret of religion itself; that religion itself, not indeed on the surface, but fundamentally, not in intention or according to its own supposition, but in its heart, in its essence, believes in nothing else than the truth and divinity of human nature.”

IfsBelieveHumansHeartSecretAtheismHuman NatureNegativeEssenceIntentionPositive AtheismSurfaceRememberedDivinityAtheisticSupposition
Book:The essence of Christianity
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“Science is the only news. When you scan a news portal or magazine, all the human interest stuff is the same old he-said-she-said, the politics and economics the same cyclical dramas, the fashions a pathetic illusion of newness; even the technology is predictable if you know the science behind it. Human nature doesn't change much; science does, and the change accrues, altering the world irreversibly”

IfsKnowsWorldHumansDoeSaidStuffInterestBehindsTechnologyFashionHuman NatureDramaNewsIllusionEconomicsMagazinesPatheticPredictablePortalNewnessPolitics And EconomicsHe Said She Said
Author:Stewart Brand
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“Music is a manifestation of the human spirit, similar to language. Its greatest practitioners have conveyed to mankind things not possible to say in any other language. If we do not want these things to remain dead treasures, we must do our utmost to make the greatest possible number of people understand their idiom.”

PeopleIfsWantInspirationalHumansSpiritLanguageUnderstandingNumbersMusicMankindHuman NatureMusic IsRemainsTreasureManifestationComposerHuman SpiritIdiomLinguists
Author:Zoltan Kodaly
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“I believe that the basic nature of human beings is gentle and compassionate. It is therefore in our own interest to encourage that nature, to make it live within us, to leave room for it to develop. If on the contrary we use violence, it is as if we voluntarily obstruct the positive side of human nature and prevent its evolution.”

IfsBelieveHumansUseI BelieveSidesInterestHuman BeingsRoomsHealingViolenceHuman NatureEvolutionConflictContraryGentleCompassionateConflict ResolutionConflict Of Interest
Author:Dalai Lama
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“If human nature does alter it will be because individuals manage to look at themselves in a new way. Here and there people - a very few people, but a few novelists are among them - are trying to do this. Every institution and vested interest in against such a search: organized religion, the state, the family in its economic aspect, have nothing to gain, and it is only when outward prohibitions weaken that it can proceed: history conditions it to that extent.”

PeopleIfsWayTryingHumansLooksDoeStatesIndividualInterestAtheismEconomicConditionsHuman NatureGainsAspectInstitutionsPositive AtheismManageNovelistsOrganizedNew WaysHere And ThereProhibitionOrganized ReligionVested Interests
Author:E. M. Forster
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“It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human nature, in different times or different cultural environments or different religious traditions: hence if they actually meet, that is, if they are at least so much related to each other that a real interaction can take place, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may follow.”

IfsThinkingHumansMayTwoDifferentRealReligiousLinesInterestingEnvironmentHuman NatureDevelopmentTraditionRootsRelatedInteractionDifferent TimesReligious Traditions
Author:Werner Heisenberg
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“Really to believe in human nature while striving to know the thousand forces that warp it from its ideal development - to call for and expect much from men and women, and not to be disappointed and embittered if they fall short - to try to do good with people rather than to them - this is my religion on its human side. And if God exists, I think that he must be in the warm sun, in the kindly actions of the people we know and read of, in the beautiful things of art and nature, and in the closeness of friendships.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsMenTryingBelieveHumansArtActionBeautifulFallForceSidesSunHuman NatureDevelopmentThousandMen And WomenIdealsStriveWarmDisappointedBeautiful ThingsClosenessGod ExistsWarp
Author:Randolph Bourne
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“If idioms are more to be born than to be selected, then the things of life and human nature that a man has grown up with--(not that one man's experience is better than another's, but that it is 'his.')--may give him something better in his substance and manner than an over-long period of superimposed idiomatic education which quite likely doesn't fit his constitution. My father used to say, 'If a poet knows more about a horse than he does about heaven, he might better stick to the horse, and some day the horse may carry him into heaven'”

IfsKnowsMenGivingHumansMayLongDoeMightUsedFatherHeavenBornHuman NaturePoetPeriodsFitConstitutionHorseSticksSubstanceOne ManSomething BetterSelectedIdiom
Author:Charles Ives
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“If nonsatiety were the natural state of human nature then aggressive want-stimulating advertising would not be necessary, nor would the barrage of novelty aimed at promoting dissatisfaction with last year's model. The system attempts to remake people to fit its own presuppositions. If people's wants are not naturally insatiable we must make them so, in order to keep the system going.”

PeopleIfsWantYearsHumansStatesLastsOrderNaturalHuman NatureFitModelsAdvertisingAggressiveLast YearPromotingNoveltyDissatisfactionRemakesInsatiable
Author:Herman E. Daly
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“Laughter, while it lasts, slackens and unbraces the mind, weakens the faculties and causes a kind of remissness and dissolution in all the powers of the soul; and thus it may be looked on as weakness in the composition of human nature. But if we consider the frequent relieves we receive from it and how often it breaks the gloom which is apt to depress the mind and damp our spirits, with transient, unexpected gleams of joy, one would take care not to grow too wise for so great a pleasure of life.”

IfsLifeMindHumansKindMaySoulCareLastsJoySpiritGrowsCausesPleasureBreakWiseHuman NatureLaughterWeaknessTake CareUnexpectedFacultyDepressingCompositionGloomTransientGleamDissolutionDampPleasures Of Life
Author:Malcolm De Chazal
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“Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have a something to lay hold of - and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system.... The heart must have something to cling to.”

IfsMindHumansHeartNaturalHuman NatureLaysHungerPainfulTendenciesMinistersProfessorsVoidHuman HeartClingingGraspingSubstitutionVacancy
Book:Sermons: Select Works
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“I was a stray acquaintance whom he had never seem before and would never see again, a wandered for a moment through his monotonous life, and some starved impulse left him to lay bare his soul. I have in this way learned more about men in a night than I could if I had known them for 10 years. If you are interested in human nature, it is one of the greatest pleasures of travel.”

IfsMenWayLifeYearsHumansSoulMomentsSeemsNightLeftPleasureKnownHuman NatureLaysImpulseAcquaintanceMonotonousGreatest PleasuresMonotonous Life
Author:W. Somerset Maugham
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“I doubt if anyone of any tenderness or imagination can see the hand of a child and not be a little frightened of it. It is awful to think of the essential human energy moving so tiny a thing; it is like imagining that human nature could live in the wing of a butterfly or the leaf of a tree. When we look upon lives so human and yet so small... We feel the same kind of obligation to these creatures that a deity might feel...”

IfsThinkingFeelsHumansLooksKindChildrenLittlesHandsMightMovingEnergyImaginationDoubtTreeHuman NatureCreaturesEssentialsCatholicWingsTinyObligationAwfulLook UpFrightenedButterflyTendernessLeafs
Author:Gilbert K. Chesterton
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“It must be stressed that there is nothing insulting about looking at people as animals. We are animals, after all. Homo sapiens is a species of primate, a biological phenomenon dominated by biological rules, like any other species. Human nature is no more than one particular kind of animal nature. Agreed, the human species is an extraordinary animal; but all other species are also extraordinary animals, each in their own way, and the scientific man-watcher can bring many fresh insights to the study of human affairs if he can retain this basic attitude of evolutionary humility.”

PeopleIfsMenWayHumansKindAnimalAttitudeStudyHuman NatureHumilityParticularSpeciesExtraordinaryAffairInsightPhenomenonStressedInsultingHomo SapiensHuman SpeciesWatchersPrimates
Book:Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior
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“Watch human nature; we are so built that if we do not get thrilled in the right way, we will get thrilled in the wrong. If we are without the thrill of communion with God, we will try to get thrilled by the devil, or by some concoction of human ingenuity.”

IfsWayTryingHumansWatchesHuman NatureDevilBuiltCommunionThrillRight WayIngenuityCommunion With God
Book:Biblical Ethics / The Moral Foundations of Life / The Philosophy of Sin: Ethical Principles for the Christian Life
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“And all men are ready to pass judgement on the priest as if he was not a being clothed with flesh, or one who inherited a human nature.”

IfsMenHumansHuman NatureReadyFleshJudgementPriestsJudgemental
Book:A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church: St. Chrysostom: On the priesthood; Ascetic treatises; Select homilies and letters; Homilies on the statutes
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“I am not conscious of a single experience throughout my three months' stay in England and Europe that made me feel that after all East is East and West is West. On the contrary, I have been convinced more than ever that human nature is much the same, no matter under what clime it flourishes, and that if you approached people with trust and affection you would have ten-fold trust and thousand-fold affection returned to you.”

PeopleIfsFeelsHumansHas BeensMadeMatterThreeHuman NatureTrustMonthsThousandTenConsciousEuropeEnglandWestAffectionEastConvincedContraryFoldsThree MonthsEast And West
Book:The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas
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“We suffer not from overproduction but from undercirculation. You have heard of technocracy. I wish I had those fellows for my competitors. I'd like to take the automobile it is said they predicted could be made now that would last fifty years. Even if never used, this automobile would not be worth anything except to a junkman in ten years, because of the changes in men's tastes and ideas. This desire for change is an inherent quality in human nature, so that the present generation must not try to crystallize the needs of the future ones.”

IfsMenNeedsTryingYearsHumansMadeSaidIdeasLastsUsedDesireSufferingWishQualityGenerationsHeardHuman NatureTasteTenFellowsFiftyDaily LifeInherentCompetitorsAutomobile
Author:Charles Kettering
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“There is no need to invent an ego that is separate from the divine if our basic human nature is trusted. If we trust ourselves, we know how to avoid interfering with nature and how to live in harmony. When we know God as an unseen, loving, and accepting power at the heart of everything, allowing us to make our own choices, then God is a trusted part of our nature.”

IfsKnowsNeedsHumansHeartGodChoicesAcceptingKnow HowHuman NatureDivineEgoHarmonyAllowingTrustedInterfereUnseenKnowing God
Author:Wayne Dyer
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“I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result, not only for ourselves, but also for the society to which we belong. I generally refer to this sort of love and affection as a universal religion. Everyone needs it, believers as much as non-believers. This attitude constitutes the very basis of morality.”

IfsNeedsHumansKindResultsAttitudeHuman NatureWords Of WisdomMoralityBehaviorBenefitsUniversalBasesAffectionConvincedGoodBelieverBelongingImmenseWise Man Once SaidTibetanAffectionateNon BelieverLove And AffectionLoving Nature
Author:Dalai Lama
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