--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not human nature we should accuse…" description: "\"It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.\" — Denis Diderot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/denis-diderot-1536_conventions_it-is-not-human-nature-we-should-accuse_2381189.png" --- # It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable… ![“It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.” quote by Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/denis-diderot-1536_conventions_it-is-not-human-nature-we-should-accuse_2381189.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/denis-diderot-1536_conventions_it-is-not-human-nature-we-should-accuse_2381189.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/denis-diderot-1536_conventions_it-is-not-human-nature-we-should-accuse_2381189.png) > “It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.” [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## 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 corrupted by harmful societal norms, not by inherent flaws. **In simple terms:** Society's bad habits distort us. Key Takeaway Question and challenge harmful conventions. Themes society morality human nature Mood critical reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - policy making - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy ethics social critique Questions to Reflect On - What conventions shape your behavior? - How can you resist negative influences? A Different Perspective Changing entrenched norms is difficult and slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accuse Despicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuse-despicable-5898123/) [Conventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions/) [Conventions Pervert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions-pervert-5898122/) [Despicable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despicable/) [Despicable Conventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despicable-conventions-5898121/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Pervert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pervert/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [The pervert." "He prefers to think of himself as sexual deviant." "Semantics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-pervert-he-prefers-to-think-of-himself-as-sexual-deviant-semantics/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“I can't believe this heat," Abbey said, taking her tunic and pulling it over her head. Underneath was a form-fitting top that showed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-keenan/i-can-t-believe-this-heat-abbey-said-taking-her-tunic-and-pulling-it/) [Shawn Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-keenan/) > [“I’m not some three-hundred-year-old pervert who kisses teenage girls, okay?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-keaton/i-m-not-some-three-hundred-year-old-pervert-who-kisses-teenage-girls/) [Kelly Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-keaton/) > [“The Farmer’s Almanac promised a cold winter. The coldest in decades. Andrew grinned, unaware of how hideously ugly it made him. Let the winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/the-farmer-s-almanac-promised-a-cold-winter-the-coldest-in-decades/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [“He was about to cross a point of no return. The place separating him from the imaginary line in the sand. The one society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/he-was-about-to-cross-a-point-of-no-return-the-place-separating-him/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [People have this notion of me being this sweet, nice girl, but I'm kind of a pervert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-branch/people-have-this-notion-of-me-being-this-sweet-nice-girl-but-i-m-kind/) [Michelle Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-branch/) > [“Despite the liberal atmosphere of our time, it would be naive to assume that the distinction between “weird” and “normal” has disappeared. 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What fun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wiess/oh-there-s-a-wholesome-outing-i-say-let-s-all-skip-down-to-the-cop/) [Laura Wiess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wiess/) > [“If it is bad to debase the innocence of a private individual, whose influence on the affairs of the world is minimal, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/if-it-is-bad-to-debase-the-innocence-of-a-private-individual-whose/) [Frederick the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [I've got a black woolen hat and it's got Pervert written across the front of it. It's the name of the clothing label. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-ve-got-a-black-woolen-hat-and-it-s-got-pervert-written-across-the/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [“Chance shook his head. “He’s fine. Watch.” He clapped his hands and made kissing sounds as if he were calling a dog. “Come on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-ward/chance-shook-his-head-he-s-fine-watch-he-clapped-his-hands-and-made/) [Penelope Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-ward/) ## More by Denis Diderot > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-declaims-endlessly-against-the-passions-one-imputes-all-of-man-s/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Time, matter, space - all, it may be, are no more than a point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/time-matter-space-all-it-may-be-are-no-more-than-a-point/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/we-are-far-more-liable-to-catch-the-vices-than-the-virtues-of-our/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One composition is meagre, though it has many figures; another is rich, though it has few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-composition-is-meagre-though-it-has-many-figures-another-is-rich/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [The world is the house of the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-world-is-the-house-of-the-strong/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“One swallows the lie that flatters, but sips the bitter truth drop by drop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-swallows-the-lie-that-flatters-but-sips-the-bitter-truth-drop-by/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is less harm to be suffered in being mad among madmen than in being sane all by oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-less-harm-to-be-suffered-in-being-mad-among-madmen-than-in/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Integrity is the evidence of all civil virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/integrity-is-the-evidence-of-all-civil-virtues/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/watch-out-for-the-fellow-who-talks-about-putting-things-in-order/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“Nie wiem, co to zasady, chyba że tak nazywamy prawidła, które przypisuje się innym, a nie sobie. Myślę tak, a nie umiałbym się powstrzymać…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/nie-wiem-co-to-zasady-chyba-e-tak-nazywamy-prawid-a-kt-re-przypisuje/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is no good father who would want to resemble our Heavenly Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-no-good-father-who-would-want-to-resemble-our-heavenly-father/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Isn't it better to have men being ungrateful than to miss a chance to do good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/isn-t-it-better-to-have-men-being-ungrateful-than-to-miss-a-chance-to/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/a-nation-which-thinks-that-it-is-belief-in-god-and-not-good-law-which/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) [Explore all 210 Denis Diderot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## More Conventions quotes > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [ \[James\] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. 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