Quotes About Human nature

The scariest thing about people like Terrence and my parents is not that they can be cruel. It's that they can be kind too.

Most of us know, now, that Rousseau was wrong: that man, when you knock his chains off, sets up the death camps. Soon we shall know everything the 18th century didn't know, and nothing it did, and it will be hard to live with us.

The avidity with which we thieve and kill and ruin one another! The flesh is undeserving of the souls with

In the clinic it is obvious that what patients believe about human nature influences their lives and problems.

We all harbor irreconcilable ideas. (People are no damn good, but I'm a fine fellow. Being overweight is a grave threat to my health; please pass the doughnuts. Life is short; let's watch TV.) Yet most of us get along pretty well.

Most of us assume that human beings have free will. However, . . . [we] are very much conditioned by our species, culture, family, and by the past in general. . . . It is rare for a human being to have free will. . . . (140)

Greed and selfishness do seem to be central motivators of mankind.

As if one could know the good a person is capable of, when one doesn't know the bad he might do.

Evil is not something superhuman, it's something less than human.

I think it's important to realize that we're all just human. I mean, nobody is supernatural.

For me, if I have done my duty, the continued approbation of Congress and the Marine Committee will make me rich indeed, and far more than reward me for a life of service devoted from principles of philanthropy, to support the dignity of human nature.

When you're writing non-fiction, you go as far as you can go, and then ethically you have to stop. You can't go. You can't suppose. You can't imagine. And I think there's something in human nature that wants to finish the story.

I suppose I am gently cynical about notions of who we think we are, but I certainly don't hate my fellow man. I think my cinema, although it might often deal with death and decay, is highly celebratory.

I was brought up a Catholic, so I suppose I have to believe in the goodness of human beings. I think we're not so bad after all.

If I were God, I would just be up there scratching my head, thinking, 'What the hell am I supposed to do with this?' For everyone helping an old lady across the street, there's someone else bludgeoning a person to death. And sometimes they're the same. How can He separate us all out?

I think we are fascinated and scared by evil at the same time. I think it's important not to suppress our fascination but to walk into it with open eyes.

There surely is in human nature an inherent propensity to extract all the good out of all the evil.

I thought this was the most incredible opportunity. Because 'Planet Of The Apes,' aside from the fantasy element of talking apes, is such an amazing franchise, because under the surface of that genre, you're actually looking at human nature.

I'm not sure that it's possible to write a novel about people who don't transgress or stumble, people who don't surprise themselves with the things they do, people who can explain all their actions with perfect logical consistency. At least it's not possible for me to write that sort of novel.

The government believed that adherence to authority was human nature, so the Gezi protests were a real surprise to them. After the initial moment of shock, they decided to severely punish those participating in what they called an act of disobedience to authority.

I'm constantly surprised by human nature and humanity. And I think that's why I love what I do: because I love to story-tell and bring new characters to life.

I don't always expect good from people. I always expect the bad and I am pleasantly surprised when they are nice.

We all want to judge; it's an intrinsic part of our society and human nature. I'm not surprised that talent shows are hits, but I'm glad some of them aren't so brutal.

Is human nature basically good or evil? No economist can embark upon his profession without considering this question, and yet they all seem to. And they all seem to think human nature is basically good, or they wouldn't be surprised by the effects of deregulation.