--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people prefer a view of human nature…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/david-eagleman-2079_aim_many-people-prefer-a-view-of-human-natur_2205948.jpg" --- # Many people prefer a view of human nature that includes a… ![“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.” quote by David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/david-eagleman-2079_aim_many-people-prefer-a-view-of-human-natur_2205948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/david-eagleman-2079_aim_many-people-prefer-a-view-of-human-natur_2205948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/david-eagleman-2079_aim_many-people-prefer-a-view-of-human-natur_2205948.jpg) > “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.” [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) ## 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 complex; brain studies reveal multiple motives beyond simple good/evil dichotomy. **In simple terms:** People have layered drives, not just one true aim. Key Takeaway Recognize nuanced motivations in yourself and others. Themes human nature psychology complexity Mood thoughtful analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - self‑assessment - interpersonal relationships - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts neuroscience motivation theory Questions to Reflect On - What hidden motives drive your actions? - How does understanding brain complexity change judgments? A Different Perspective Simplifying motives can aid communication but may overlook depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Necessitates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-necessitates-4865191/) [Cover ups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cover-ups/) [Decoration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decoration/) [Evasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evasion/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Incomplete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incomplete/) [Intuitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitive/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Nuanced View](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuanced-view-4392584/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Prefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-prefer/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Study Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-brain-1434440/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) ## Related quotes > [Karl Marx was in favor of socialist and communist-socialist revolutions, but he had a pretty nuanced view about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/karl-marx-was-in-favor-of-socialist-and-communist-socialist/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Dalai Lama is taking a subtle and nuanced view of politics and he is thinking in terms of events well beyond our lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/dalai-lama-is-taking-a-subtle-and-nuanced-view-of-politics-and-he-is/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [I realized, "Oh my gosh! I'm having a stroke!" And the next thing my brain says to me is, Wow! This is so cool!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-bolte-taylor/i-realized-oh-my-gosh-i-m-having-a-stroke-and-the-next-thing-my-brain/) [Jill Bolte Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-bolte-taylor/) > [Our ability to study the brain has been limited because of our tools and our tools have only allowed us to look at one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/our-ability-to-study-the-brain-has-been-limited-because-of-our-tools/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [I think a good movie would be about a guy who's a brain scientist, but he gets hit on the head and it damages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-a-good-movie-would-be-about-a-guy-who-s-a-brain-scientist-but/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [There is no scientific study more vital to man than the study of his own brain. Our entire view of the universe depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/there-is-no-scientific-study-more-vital-to-man-than-the-study-of-his/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Phrenology is the study of the brain or how it operates, you know, the particular components that effect the nerves and the thought process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-thought/phrenology-is-the-study-of-the-brain-or-how-it-operates-you-know-the/) [Black Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-thought/) > [I realized, Oh my gosh! Im having a stroke! Im having a stroke! The next thing my brain says to me is, Wow! This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-realized-oh-my-gosh-im-having-a-stroke-im-having-a-stroke-the-next/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I really enjoyed my degree, for me it was the best course you can do. To be able to study the brain and nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-really-enjoyed-my-degree-for-me-it-was-the-best-course-you-can-do/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [“- I'm a Neuroscientist. - What's that? What do you study? - I study your brain!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vardan-hambardzumyan/i-m-a-neuroscientist-what-s-that-what-do-you-study-i-study-your-brain/) [Vardan Hambardzumyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vardan-hambardzumyan/) > [While there have been great technological advances in the study of the brain, yielding enormous amounts of data on its physical and psychological characteristics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gazzaniga/while-there-have-been-great-technological-advances-in-the-study-of/) [Michael Gazzaniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gazzaniga/) > [We cannot study the brain, the instrument for fabricating the realities we inhabit, using the mental constructs of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/we-cannot-study-the-brain-the-instrument-for-fabricating-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Neural science, which is the study of the brain, tells us that we have up to one billion brain cells with thousands of branches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricia-rhodes/neural-science-which-is-the-study-of-the-brain-tells-us-that-we-have/) [Tricia Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricia-rhodes/) > [Scientists who study brain-wave activity found that the longer one watches television, the more likely the brain will slip into "alpha" level: a slow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-mander/scientists-who-study-brain-wave-activity-found-that-the-longer-one/) [Jerry Mander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-mander/) > [Who would not prefer animals to these people who prefer animals to people?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-doniger/who-would-not-prefer-animals-to-these-people-who-prefer-animals-to/) [Wendy Doniger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-doniger/) ## More by David Eagleman > [We're trapped on this very thin slice of perception ... But even at that slice of reality that we call home, we're not seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-re-trapped-on-this-very-thin-slice-of-perception-but-even-at-that/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Visual cortex is fundamentally a machine whose job is to generate a model of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/visual-cortex-is-fundamentally-a-machine-whose-job-is-to-generate-a/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [If you ever feel lazy or dull, take heart: you're the busiest, brightest thing on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/if-you-ever-feel-lazy-or-dull-take-heart-you-re-the-busiest-brightest/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [We are not conscious of most things until we ask ourselves questions about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/we-are-not-conscious-of-most-things-until-we-ask-ourselves-questions/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“with the knowledge that you cannot appreciate the destination without knowing the starting point; you cannot revel in the simplicity unless you remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/with-the-knowledge-that-you-cannot-appreciate-the-destination-without/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“If an epileptic seizure is focused in a particular sweet spot in the temporal lobe, a person won´t have motor seizures, but instead something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/if-an-epileptic-seizure-is-focused-in-a-particular-sweet-spot-in-the/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [The deep secret of the brain is that not only the spinal cord but the entire central nervous system works this way: internally generated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-deep-secret-of-the-brain-is-that-not-only-the-spinal-cord-but-the/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [When people fall in love, there´s period of up to three years during which the zeal and infatuation ride at a peak. The internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/when-people-fall-in-love-there-s-period-of-up-to-three-years-during/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [The majority of human beings live their whole lives unaware that they are only seeing a limited cone of vision at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-majority-of-human-beings-live-their-whole-lives-unaware-that-they/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Our ignorance of the cosmos is too vast to commit to atheism, and yet we know too much to commit to a particular religion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/our-ignorance-of-the-cosmos-is-too-vast-to-commit-to-atheism-and-yet/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“As Gazzaniga put it, "these findings all suggest that the interpretive mechanism of the left hemisphere is always hard at work, seeking the meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/as-gazzaniga-put-it-these-findings-all-suggest-that-the-interpretive/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [I spent my adult life as a scientist, and science is, essentially, the most successful approach we have to try and understand the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/i-spent-my-adult-life-as-a-scientist-and-science-is-essentially-the/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [When the brain activity is kindled in the right spot, people hear voices. If a physician prescribes an anti-epileptic medication, the seizures go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/when-the-brain-activity-is-kindled-in-the-right-spot-people-hear/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“Platoons and plays and stores and congresses do not end - they simply move on to a different dimension.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/platoons-and-plays-and-stores-and-congresses-do-not-end-they-simply/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Awareness of your surroundings occurs only when sensory inputs violate expectations. When the world is successfully predicted away, awareness is not needed because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/awareness-of-your-surroundings-occurs-only-when-sensory-inputs/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) [Explore all 183 David Eagleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 3,047 Aim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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