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Human Nature Quotes

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Human Nature Quotes

“A great and frequent error in our judgment of human nature is to suppose that those sentiments and feelings have no existence, which may be only for a time concealed. The precious metals are not found at the surface of the earth, except in sandy places.”

Humans May Character Feelings Earth Found Existence Human Nature Judgment Errors Surface Sentiments Metals Concealed Sandy Precious Metal

Book:Essays and aphorisms

Source: Essays and aphorisms

“For as long as men and women have talked about war, they have talked about it in terms of right and wrong. And for almost as long, some among them have derided such talk, called it a charade, insisted that war lies beyond (or beneath) moral judgment. War is a world apart, where life itself is at stake, where human nature is reduced to its elemental forms, where self-interest and necessity prevail. Here men and women do what they must to save themselves and their communities, and morality and law have no place. Inter arma silent leges: in time of war the law is silent.”

Source: Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

“Youth is the period of harsh judgments, and a man seldom learns until he reaches thirty that human nature is made up not of simples, but of compounds.”

Men Humans Made Human Nature Youth Periods Judgment Thirty Complexity Harsh Compounds

Book:The Miller of Old Church

Source: The Miller of Old Church

“Ressentiment is a self-poisoning of the mind which has quite definite causes and consequences. It is a lasting mental attitude, caused by the systematic repression of certain emotions and affects which, as such are normal components of human nature. Their repression leads to the constant tendency to indulge in certain kinds of value delusions and corresponding value judgments. The emotions and affects primarily concerned are revenge, hatred, malice, envy, the impulse to detract, and spite.”

Source: On Feeling, Knowing, and Valuing: Selected Writings

“Truly man is a marvelously vain, diverse, and undulating object. It is hard to found any constant and uniform judgment on him.”

Men Hard Found Human Nature Objects Diversity Judgment Constant Vain Diverse Uniforms

Author:Michel de Montaigne

“It is easy enough to say, Be true to your values. But what if your values are irrational? Or what if the virtues you have committed yourself to are so much against human nature that they cannot be practiced consistently? Be careful of what you accept as your code of morality. Think carefully about whether its tenets serve your life and well being. Exercise critical judgment. Realize how much is at stake-your life, your happiness, your self-esteem.”

“Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.”

Humans Wells Persons Young Dies Literature Nature Inspiring Interesting Situation Human Nature Judgment Emma Interesting Situations

Book:Emma: A Novel

Source: Emma: A Novel

“If education is to develop human nature so that it may attain the object of its being, it must involve the exercise of judgment.”

Ifs Humans May Human Nature Objects Exercise Judgment

Book:On Education

Source: On Education

“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.”

“We cannot doubt that self-interest is the mainspring of human nature. It must be clearly understood that this word is used here to designate a universal, incontestable fact, resulting from the nature of man, and not an adverse judgment, as would be the word selfishness.”

Men Humans Self Facts Would Be Used Interest Liberty Doubt Economic Human Nature Judgment Understood Economics Universal Selfishness Self Interest Adverse Nature Of Man

Author:Frederic Bastiat

“In the discharge of this trust I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed toward the organization and administration of the Government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable.”

Government Human Nature Judgment Capable Organization Intention Administration Good Intentions Exertion Discharge

Book:Washington's Farewell Address to the People of the United States of America

Source: Washington's Farewell Address to the People of the United States of America

“Judgment can be acquired only by acute observation, by actual experience in the school of life, by ceaseless alertness to learn from others, by study of the activities of men who have made notable marks, by striving to analyze the everyday play of causes and effects, by constant study of human nature.”

Men Humans Made Play School Causes Study Effects Human Nature Activity Judgment Mark Constant Strive Everyday Observation Judgement Notable Cause And Effect Alertness Alertness Is

Book:Keys to Success

Source: Keys to Success