--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human nature is not nearly as bad as it…" description: "\"Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.\" — Abraham Maslow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png" --- # Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought… ![“Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.” quote by Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png) > “Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.” [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature is fundamentally decent, contrary to pessimistic views that overemphasize flaws. **In simple terms:** People are generally good, not as bad as some think. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture inherent goodness. Themes human nature optimism psychology morality Mood hopeful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - leadership - community building - conflict resolution Key Concepts positive psychology humanistic theory Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports a kinder view of humanity? - How can we balance optimism with realism? A Different Perspective Overly optimistic views may ignore real harmful behaviors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-nearly-981579/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Nearly Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-bad-2925726/) ## Related quotes > [Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“But I get ahead of myself, which is nearly as bad as getting Above Myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-peet/but-i-get-ahead-of-myself-which-is-nearly-as-bad-as-getting-above/) [Mal Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-peet/) > [I am quite hard to live with, and I know that if I go through a bad run, I'm not the best company and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-mccoy/i-am-quite-hard-to-live-with-and-i-know-that-if-i-go-through-a-bad/) [Tony McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-mccoy/) > [Despotism isn't nearly as bad as it's cracked up to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arabella-weir/despotism-isn-t-nearly-as-bad-as-it-s-cracked-up-to-be/) [Arabella Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arabella-weir/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“There is only One Human race; Humankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/there-is-only-one-human-race-humankind/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“If you are HUMAN, then the limit of what you can do, what you learn, what you can experience HAS NOT YET BEEN REACHED.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-hartmann/if-you-are-human-then-the-limit-of-what-you-can-do-what-you-learn/) [Silvia Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvia-hartmann/) > [I think the word 'soul' - it depends on what you define by 'soul.' If you're defining it as a mystical aura that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/i-think-the-word-soul-it-depends-on-what-you-define-by-soul-if-you-re/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [There surely is in human nature an inherent propensity to extract all the good out of all the evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/there-surely-is-in-human-nature-an-inherent-propensity-to-extract-all/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) [Morton Irving Seiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-irving-seiden/) > [As we are human, we can't do what we can't do; as we're neurotic, we can't do what we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/as-we-are-human-we-can-t-do-what-we-can-t-do-as-we-re-neurotic-we-can/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [That's what makes a human a human, if we store information outside our bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/that-s-what-makes-a-human-a-human-if-we-store-information-outside-our/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) ## More by Abraham Maslow > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Laugh at what you hold sacred, and still hold it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/laugh-at-what-you-hold-sacred-and-still-hold-it-sacred/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/good-psychology-should-include-all-the-methodological-techniques/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Well why not a technology of joy, of happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/well-why-not-a-technology-of-joy-of-happiness/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you love the truth, you'll trust it - that is, you will expect it to be good, beautiful, perfect, orderly, etc., in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-love-the-truth-you-ll-trust-it-that-is-you-will-expect-it-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [My feeling is that the concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/my-feeling-is-that-the-concept-of-creativeness-and-the-concept-of-the/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibility. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibility-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [...the great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-great-lesson-is-that-the-sacred-is-in-the-ordinary-that-it-is-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/dispassionate-objectivity-is-itself-a-passion-for-the-real-and-for/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-ability-to-be-in-the-present-moment-is-a-major-component-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Plateau experiencing can be achieved, learned, earned by long hard work… A transient glimpse is certainly possible in the peak experiences which may, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/plateau-experiencing-can-be-achieved-learned-earned-by-long-hard-work/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [You must want to be first-class ...meaning the best, the very best you are capable of becoming. If you deliberately plan to be less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/you-must-want-to-be-first-class-meaning-the-best-the-very-best-you/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you treat your children at home in the same way you treat your animals in the lab, your wife will scratch your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-treat-your-children-at-home-in-the-same-way-you-treat-your/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [It is vital that people "count their blessings:" to appreciate what they possess without having to undergo its actual loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-vital-that-people-count-their-blessings-to-appreciate-what-they/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) [Explore all 182 Abraham Maslow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## More Human quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [I found out about Sister Song through Poppy Liu, who's on the show 'Hacks.' Reproductive rights are human rights, and I wanted to shine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/i-found-out-about-sister-song-through-poppy-liu-who-s-on-the-show/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) [Gene Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-scott/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 8,656 Human quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Maslow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-has-been-thought-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-has-been-thought-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef1/abraham-maslow-2146_human_human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it_2071111.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.” — Abraham Maslow", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Maslow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human nature is not nearly as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-has-been-thought-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-has-been-thought-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```