--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We would much rather blame nature for…" description: "\"We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.\" — Frans de Waal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png" --- # We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like… ![“We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.” quote by Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png) > “We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.” [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to blame external forces for personal flaws while attributing successes to themselves, revealing a bias toward self‑enhancement and externalizing negativity. **In simple terms:** We blame nature for our flaws, not our virtues. Key Takeaway Recognize personal responsibility for both strengths and weaknesses. Themes self‑awareness bias responsibility Mood reflective critical insightful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal growth - conflict resolution - leadership development - relationship counseling Key Concepts psychology social cognition attribution theory Questions to Reflect On - How does blaming nature protect your self‑image? - What would change if you credited yourself for positive traits? A Different Perspective Blame can be a defense mechanism that hinders honest self‑assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [It's easy to blame the nature-deficit disorder on the kids' or the parents' back, but they also need the help of urban planners, schools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/it-s-easy-to-blame-the-nature-deficit-disorder-on-the-kids-or-the/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [Your life is like credit. If you make bad choices and decisions its gonna effect everything in your life as well as yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-life-is-like-credit-if-you-make-bad-choices-and-decisions-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see a lot of nature in L.A. Then again, I don't see a lot when I go back to St. Louis, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-basso/i-don-t-see-a-lot-of-nature-in-l-a-then-again-i-don-t-see-a-lot-when/) [Gabriel Basso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-basso/) > [I can't go against my nature because I am what I am. I don't try to be anyone different to who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcdermott/i-can-t-go-against-my-nature-because-i-am-what-i-am-i-don-t-try-to-be/) [Brian McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcdermott/) > [I'm not keen on interfering with nature; I don't want to edit my genome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/i-m-not-keen-on-interfering-with-nature-i-don-t-want-to-edit-my-genome/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [“With nature on your side, you don’t need numbers, you don’t need financing and you certainly don’t need to make friends with people you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-rankin/with-nature-on-your-side-you-don-t-need-numbers-you-don-t-need/) [Christopher Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-rankin/) > [I am a brat by nature and I don't repent what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kashmira-shah/i-am-a-brat-by-nature-and-i-don-t-repent-what-i-do/) [Kashmira Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kashmira-shah/) > [Ladakhi life is very fine-tuned with nature. We don't want it to become like cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/ladakhi-life-is-very-fine-tuned-with-nature-we-don-t-want-it-to/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Nature is what you don't have to trouble about. It looks after itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/nature-is-what-you-don-t-have-to-trouble-about-it-looks-after-itself/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [My success, I feel like, is credit - credit for a good job. I haven't even gotten a Grammy, yet I've already decided I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ester-dean/my-success-i-feel-like-is-credit-credit-for-a-good-job-i-haven-t-even/) [Ester Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ester-dean/) > [Girlfriends are like credit cards, you can't get one unless you already have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girlfriends-are-like-credit-cards-you-can-t-get-one-unless-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just like credit card companies, or those student loan people. Now there's evil for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/just-like-credit-card-companies-or-those-student-loan-people-now/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [I like to take credit for the work that I have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-williams/i-like-to-take-credit-for-the-work-that-i-have-done/) [Jesse Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-williams/) > [Our life is like a credit or a loan that we have to repay to the one whom we don't know..don't know where, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghav-singh/our-life-is-like-a-credit-or-a-loan-that-we-have-to-repay-to-the-one/) [Raghav Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghav-singh/) ## More by Frans de Waal > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [If both parties have a stake in the other, the chances of them killing each other are going to be reduced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/if-both-parties-have-a-stake-in-the-other-the-chances-of-them-killing/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-sometimes-try-to-imagine-what-would-have-happened-if-we-d-known-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Unlike the primate hand, the elephant's grasping organ is also its nose. Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/unlike-the-primate-hand-the-elephant-s-grasping-organ-is-also-its/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Science is not inherently good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/science-is-not-inherently-good/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [The possibility that empathy resides in parts of the brain so ancient that we share them with rats should give pause to anyone comparing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-possibility-that-empathy-resides-in-parts-of-the-brain-so-ancient/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“on August 16, 1996, when an eight-year-old female gorilla named Binti Jua helped a three-year-old boy who had fallen eighteen feet into the primate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/on-august-16-1996-when-an-eight-year-old-female-gorilla-named-binti/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [We start out postulating sharp boundaries, such as between humans and apes, or between apes and monkeys, but are in fact dealing with sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-start-out-postulating-sharp-boundaries-such-as-between-humans-and/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Perhaps it's just me, but I am wary of any persons whose belief system is the only thing standing between them and repulsive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/perhaps-it-s-just-me-but-i-am-wary-of-any-persons-whose-belief-system/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Personally, I think it is possible to build a society that is moral on a nonreligious basis, but the jury is still out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/personally-i-think-it-is-possible-to-build-a-society-that-is-moral-on/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“humans are a strange lot. We have the power to analyze and explore the world around us, yet panic as soon as the evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/humans-are-a-strange-lot-we-have-the-power-to-analyze-and-explore-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Armies are a purely human invention. Most soldiers who go to war nowadays don't even do it because they're inherently aggressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/armies-are-a-purely-human-invention-most-soldiers-who-go-to-war/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [There's actually a lot of evidence in primates and other animals that they return favors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/there-s-actually-a-lot-of-evidence-in-primates-and-other-animals-that/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“In a world divided by chimpophiles and bonobophiles, we all had a good laugh when Stephen peeled his banana. (62)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/in-a-world-divided-by-chimpophiles-and-bonobophiles-we-all-had-a-good/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [In Africa, we have the bush meat trade, which means that, on a very large scale, animals are being killed in the forests and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/in-africa-we-have-the-bush-meat-trade-which-means-that-on-a-very/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) [Explore all 143 Frans de Waal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) ## More Blame quotes > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Me mum used to always have the radio on - even now she has it on in every room. Me girlfriend sort of blames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/me-mum-used-to-always-have-the-radio-on-even-now-she-has-it-on-in/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/i-like-to-praise-and-reward-loudly-to-blame-quietly/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) > [Some of the things that I said I hated to say, but blame yourself mother fucker you made it this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jedi-mind-tricks/some-of-the-things-that-i-said-i-hated-to-say-but-blame-yourself/) [Jedi Mind Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jedi-mind-tricks/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“In places where government priorities and market imperatives create a world so capricious that to help a neighbor is to risk your ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/in-places-where-government-priorities-and-market-imperatives-create-a/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Stop Blaming Others For Your Own Actions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/stop-blaming-others-for-your-own-actions/) [Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't blame anyone .. I did this to myself .. It's my fault .. Everything is my FAULT ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nurnizz95/i-don-t-blame-anyone-i-did-this-to-myself-it-s-my-fault-everything-is/) Nurnizz95 > [“They would congratulate themselves every morning on keeping their integrity, and blame themselves each night for that missed opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/they-would-congratulate-themselves-every-morning-on-keeping-their/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/i-try-to-live-my-life-where-i-end-up-at-a-point-where-i-have-no/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [How come you don't feel that magic in the air? I guess I knew you'll never be there. I guess I knew you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-come-you-don-t-feel-that-magic-in-the-air-i-guess-i-knew-you-ll/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am down mentally. I can't understand how it happened and who is to blame? I don't know why the ground was rolled before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeasin-khan/i-am-down-mentally-i-can-t-understand-how-it-happened-and-who-is-to/) Yeasin Khan > [A refusal to admit one's mistake & not accepting responsibility for that mistake by blaming everyone else, is d beginning of one's decline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-refusal-to-admit-one-s-mistake-not-accepting-responsibility-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listen, the guy was not created by coverage from MSNBC and CNN. If you want to blame us for making Donald Trump president because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-tur/listen-the-guy-was-not-created-by-coverage-from-msnbc-and-cnn-if-you/) [Katy Tur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-tur/) Browse all 3,779 Blame quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frans de Waal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-what-we-don-t-like-in-ourselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blame" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-what-we-don-t-like-in-ourselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/frans-de-waal-2997_blame_we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-wh_1186596.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.” — Frans de Waal", "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": "Frans de Waal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We would much rather blame nature...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-what-we-don-t-like-in-ourselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-would-much-rather-blame-nature-for-what-we-don-t-like-in-ourselves/#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 } } ] } ```