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Human Nature Quotes

Browse 4693 quotes about Human Nature.

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Human Nature Quotes

“The story of the Fall always fascinates me as a play ground, but I cannot find any profound meaning in it, because of my 'liberal' view of human nature: I cannot believe in a state of original innocence, still less in a profound meaning in it, and I am always minimising the conception and the extent of Sin and the sinfulness of sex.”

BelieveHumansStillsStatesPlayStoriesFallSexSinViewsHuman NatureOriginalsProfoundInnocenceConceptionSinfulness
Author:E. M. Forster
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“With reason, then, the common opinion of mankind, little affected by the few dissentients who have contended for the opposite view, has found in the careful study of nature, and in the laws of nature, the foundations of the division of property, and the practice of all ages has consecrated the principle of private ownership, as being pre-eminently in conformity with human nature, and as conducing in the most unmistakable manner to the peace and tranquility of human existence.”

HumansLittlesReasonWisdomAgeLawFoundPoliticsViewsCommonExistenceOpinionPrinciplesPracticeEconomyStudyMankindHuman NatureOppositesFoundationPropertyCarefulLiberalismAffectedDivisionConformityOwnershipTranquilityLaws Of NatureHuman ExistencePeace And Tranquility
Author:Pope Leo XIII
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“Of all the systems - if indeed a bundle of contradictions and absurdities may be called a system - which human nature in its moments of intoxication has produced, that which men have contrived with a view to forming the minds and regulating the conduct of women, is perhaps the most completely absurd.”

IfsMenMindHumansMayMomentsViewsHuman NatureAbsurdContradictionSexismAbsurdityIntoxicationBundles
Book:Appeal to the men of Great Britain in behalf of women
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“He, who, in view of its inconsistencies, says of human nature the same that, in view of its contrasts, is said of the divine nature, that it is past finding out, thereby evinces a better appreciation of it than he who, by always representing it in a clear light, leaves it to be inferred that he clearly knows all about it.”

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Book:The Confidence-man: His Masquerade
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“A small knowledge of human nature will convince us, that, with far the greatest part of mankind, interest is the governing principle... Few men are capable of making a continual sacrifice of all views of private interest, or advantage, to the common good. It is vain to exclaim against the depravity of human nature on this account; the fact is so, the experience of every age and nation has proved it and we must in a great measure, change the constitution of man, before we can make it otherwise. No institution, not built on the presumptive truth of these maxims can succeed.”

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Author:George Washington
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“I have been too long acquainted with human nature to have great regard for human testimony; and a very great degree of probability, supported by various concurrent circumstances, conspiring in one point, will have much greater weight with me, than human testimony upon oath, or even upon honour; both of which I have frequently seen considerably warped by private views.”

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Book:Lord Chesterfield's Letters
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“I wished to acquire the simplicity, native feelings, and virtues of savage life; to divest myself of the factitious habits, prejudices and imperfections of civilization; ... and to find, amidst the solitude and grandeur of the western wilds, more correct views of human nature and of the true interests of man. The season of snows was preferred, that I might experience the pleasure of suffering, and the novelty of danger.”

MenHumansFeelingsMightSufferingInterestPleasureViewsVirtueHuman NatureDangerHabitCivilizationSolitudeSeasonsPrejudiceWesternSimplicitySnowAcquireNativeImperfectionSavagesNoveltyGrandeur
Book:Evans's Pedestrious Tour
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“I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the empowerment. Freud is right: societies either become locked in a collective embrace of Eros, as individuals do, or a collective embrace of Thanatos, the death instinct. They swing between the two. The notion that societies are naturally prone toward self-preservation is wrong. Self-annihilation can be deeply addictive, intoxicating, enticing. So I take a darker view of human nature, that war is probably always going to be with us. I think history bears me out.”

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Author:Chris Hedges
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“People say human nature is a very vague expression, people tend to say human nature is corruptible anyway and it comes from a theological point of view, goes back to the Garden of Eden, that there is always this corrupt gene waiting to be activated that we inherited from the very beginning. I don't believe in that theological excuse.”

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Author:Wole Soyinka
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“Many people prefer a view of human nature that includes a true side and a false side - in other words, humans have a single genuine aim and the rest is decoration, evasion, or cover-up. That's intuitive, but it's incomplete. A study of the brain necessitates a more nuanced view of human nature.”

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Book:Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain
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“Is war an inevitable outcome of competing interests in a complex society? In other words, would war be the same even if human nature were very different? There are mathematical models of large groups working together that lead to conflict on a reliable basis. So there's a whole other view of war that is not psychological at all.”

IfsHumansDifferentWarWholeTogetherInterestViewsGroupsHuman NatureConflictModelsBasesComplexesPsychologicalMathematicalInevitableOutcomesWorking TogetherCompetingLarge GroupsMathematical Models
Author:Jaron Lanier
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“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Paganism is that view of life which finds the highest goal of human existence in the healthy and harmonious and joyous development of existing human faculties. Very different is the Christian ideal. Paganism is optimistic with regard to unaided human nature, whereas Christianity is the religion of the broken heart.”

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Book:Christianity and Liberalism
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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.”

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Author:Washington Irving
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“At the core, there is one simple, overarching reason why so many people remain unsatisfied in their work and why most organisations fail to draw out the greatest talent, ingenuity, and creativity of their people and never become truly great, enduring organisations. It stems from an incomplete paradigm of who we are - our fundamental view of human nature. The fundamental reality is, human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four-dimensional - body, mind, heart, and spirit.”

PeopleMindHumansHeartReasonBodyRealitySpiritHuman BeingsSimpleViewsCreativityFourFailingTalentHuman NatureDrawsFundamentalsEndureCoreReason WhyWho We AreControlledMotivatedStemParadigmIncompleteOrganisationIngenuityUnsatisfiedMind Heart
Author:Stephen Covey
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“Once a new social stage appears in a culture, it will spread its instructional codes and life-priority messages throughout that culture's surface-level expressions: religion, economic and political arrangements, psychological and anthro-pological theories, and views of human nature, our future destiny, globalization, and even architectural patterns and sports preferences. We all live in flow states; there is always new wine, always old wineskins. We, indeed, find ourselves pursuing a neverending quest.”

HumansStatesPoliticalCultureSocialSportsLevelsViewsDestinySocietyEconomicStageHuman NatureExpressionTheoryMessagesFlowWinePatternsSpreadSurfacePrioritiesPsychologicalCodeOur FutureQuestsArrangementsPreferenceGlobalizationFuture Destiny
Author:Don Edward Beck
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