--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We now know, from the latest research…" description: "\"We now know, from the latest research about neurons, that we are hard-wired for empathy. We're hard-wired for cooperation. That is something about what..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/george-lakoff-17996_barack_we-now-know-from-the-latest-research-abo_2713605.png" --- # We now know, from the latest research about neurons, that… ![“We now know, from the latest research about neurons, that we are hard-wired for empathy. We're hard-wired for cooperation. That is something about what we are as people - what it means to be a human being. And what Barack Obama was addressing was not just race or just the nature of politics. The…” quote by George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/george-lakoff-17996_barack_we-now-know-from-the-latest-research-abo_2713605.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/george-lakoff-17996_barack_we-now-know-from-the-latest-research-abo_2713605.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99a/george-lakoff-17996_barack_we-now-know-from-the-latest-research-abo_2713605.png) > “We now know, from the latest research about neurons, that we are hard-wired for empathy. We're hard-wired for cooperation. That is something about what we are as people - what it means to be a human being. And what Barack Obama was addressing was not just race or just the nature of politics. The great speeches address who we are as people, what it means to be a human being.” [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human brains are wired for empathy and cooperation, defining our humanity beyond politics. **In simple terms:** Empathy and cooperation are hard‑wired in humans. Key Takeaway Foster empathy to strengthen community. Themes neuroscience empathy cooperation Mood thoughtful optimistic Type academic inspirational When to use this quote - team building - conflict resolution - education - policy design Key Concepts social cognition human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can empathy be translated into concrete action? - What barriers hinder cooperative behavior? A Different Perspective Empathy alone may not resolve deep systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Cooperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/empathy-is-about-standing-in-someone-else-s-shoes-feeling-with-his-or/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [I'm an activist and advocate. I have empathy. It is hard to ignore causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-victor-dixon/i-m-an-activist-and-advocate-i-have-empathy-it-is-hard-to-ignore/) [Brandon Victor Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-victor-dixon/) > [We humans are wired for empathy by evolution, but when children grow up in dominator families they internalize this male over female template for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riane-eisler/we-humans-are-wired-for-empathy-by-evolution-but-when-children-grow/) [Riane Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riane-eisler/) > [The female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/the-female-brain-is-predominantly-hard-wired-for-empathy-the-male/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [“Max can’t help it,” Eddie says. “The teenaged brain isn’t wired for empathy. It’s designed to look forward.” “If you heard him, why didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellyn-bache/max-can-t-help-it-eddie-says-the-teenaged-brain-isn-t-wired-for/) [Ellyn Bache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellyn-bache/) > [My theory is that the female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy, and that the male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/my-theory-is-that-the-female-brain-is-predominantly-hard-wired-for/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [If you're a progressive, you can find lots of people who call themselves conservatives, but who agree with you on lots of things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/if-you-re-a-progressive-you-can-find-lots-of-people-who-call/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [Barack Obama understands what Ronald Reagan learned, which is that people vote not on the basis of issues and policy details, but on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/barack-obama-understands-what-ronald-reagan-learned-which-is-that/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [Religion has been an important part of my understanding, my inquiry into what it means to be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayad-akhtar/religion-has-been-an-important-part-of-my-understanding-my-inquiry/) [Ayad Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayad-akhtar/) > [Our modern world-view tragically misperceives and wrongly defines what it is to be human. We are conditioned by our society to believe happiness comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/our-modern-world-view-tragically-misperceives-and-wrongly-defines/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Ultimately, the transgender question is about more than just sex. It's about what it means to be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-d-moore/ultimately-the-transgender-question-is-about-more-than-just-sex-it-s/) [Russell D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-d-moore/) > [“We all get in a funk sometimes. It doesn't mean you're failing, or ungrateful, or stupid, or lost. It means you're human. The Funk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/we-all-get-in-a-funk-sometimes-it-doesn-t-mean-you-re-failing-or/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [Sometimes, good people make bad choices. It doesn't mean they're bad…it means they're human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-good-people-make-bad-choices-it-doesn-t-mean-they-re-bad-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesnt mean they have to pay for them the rest of their life sometimes good people make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vvn/everyone-makes-mistakes-in-life-but-that-doesnt-mean-they-have-to-pay/) VVN > [Transhumanism literally means "beyond human." It's using science and technology to radically change and improve the human species and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-istvan/transhumanism-literally-means-beyond-human-it-s-using-science-and/) [Zoltan Istvan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-istvan/) ## More by George Lakoff > [Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/our-concepts-structure-what-we-perceive-how-we-get-around-in-the/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [Unless you frame yourself, others will frame you — the media, your enemies, your competitors, your well-meaning friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/unless-you-frame-yourself-others-will-frame-you-the-media-your/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [“This is how reason really works: through framing, metaphors, emotion, narratives, and imagery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/this-is-how-reason-really-works-through-framing-metaphors-emotion/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [If you're a progressive, you can find lots of people who call themselves conservatives, but who agree with you on lots of things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/if-you-re-a-progressive-you-can-find-lots-of-people-who-call/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [The Public provides freedom...Individualism begins after the roads are built, after individualists have had an education, after medical research has cured their diseases...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-public-provides-freedom-individualism-begins-after-the-roads-are/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-essence-of-metaphor-is-understanding-and-experiencing-one-kind-of/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [We categorize as we do because we have the brains and bodies we have and because we interact in the world as we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/we-categorize-as-we-do-because-we-have-the-brains-and-bodies-we-have/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [“The environment is not an "other" to us. It is not a collection of things that we encounter. Rather, it is part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-environment-is-not-an-other-to-us-it-is-not-a-collection-of/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [Barack Obama understands what Ronald Reagan learned, which is that people vote not on the basis of issues and policy details, but on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/barack-obama-understands-what-ronald-reagan-learned-which-is-that/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [“Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/our-ordinary-conceptual-system-in-terms-of-which-we-both-think-and/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [Most conservatives are conservatives because they think they are morally correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/most-conservatives-are-conservatives-because-they-think-they-are/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [You can't understand Twenty-first-Century Politics with an Eighteenth-Century Brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/you-can-t-understand-twenty-first-century-politics-with-an-eighteenth/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [“If you believe in the eighteenth century view of the mind, you will look and act wimpy. You will think that all you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/if-you-believe-in-the-eighteenth-century-view-of-the-mind-you-will/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [“The biology of empathy allows us to comprehend our connection to each other, to other living things, and to the physical world that supports…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-biology-of-empathy-allows-us-to-comprehend-our-connection-to-each/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [One of the things cognitive science teaches us is that when people define their very identity by a worldview, or a narrative, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/one-of-the-things-cognitive-science-teaches-us-is-that-when-people/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) [Explore all 36 George Lakoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) ## More Barack quotes > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [We're in more wars today under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than under George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Yet they tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-in-more-wars-today-under-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton-than/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I can tell you who's planning terroris attacks. The leaders of ISIL. And I can tell you where they're at. They're in Raqqa, Syria.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-can-tell-you-who-s-planning-terroris-attacks-the-leaders-of-isil/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ The president \[Barack Obama\] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-commitment-of-i-think-100-000/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [The big story today, Barack Obama was accused of insulting Sarah Palin when he criticized Republican policies by saying, you can put lipstick on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-big-story-today-barack-obama-was-accused-of-insulting-sarah-palin/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [ I think the president's \[Barack Obama\] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-position-has-been-very-clear-on/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [ It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president \[Barack Obama\] has consistently said - which I agree with - is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-cannot-be-an-american-fight-and-i-think-what-the-president-barack/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It doesn't matter to me where Barack Obama goes. If he wants to go to Hawaii because it's his home state, fine! Hunky-dory. Plastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-where-barack-obama-goes-if-he-wants-to-go-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I don't think that we really know a whole lot about Barack Obama at all that you would really call distinctive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-mcwhorter/i-don-t-think-that-we-really-know-a-whole-lot-about-barack-obama-at/) [John H. McWhorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-mcwhorter/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/i-think-president-barack-obama-has-been-an-extraordinarily-successful/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) Michael Atherton > [In public, Barack Obama's giving the simple version of his beliefs for the mass public. In private, he can discuss it at a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-public-barack-obama-s-giving-the-simple-version-of-his-beliefs-for/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) Browse all 1,672 Barack quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We now know, from the latest research about neurons, that we are hard-wired for empathy. We're hard-wired for cooperation. That is something about what we are as people - what it means to be a human being. And what Barack Obama was addressing was not just race or just the nature of politics. 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