--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are naturally moral beings, but our…" description: "\"We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral sense.\" — Paul Bloom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg" --- # We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can… ![“We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral sense.” quote by Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg) > “We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral sense.” [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human morality is innate, yet shaped positively or negatively by surroundings. **In simple terms:** Moral sense is natural but environment matters. Key Takeaway Cultivate supportive environments. Themes morality environment human nature Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - education - family - workplace - media - policy Key Concepts psychology social influence Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment shape your moral choices? - Can you identify a setting that strengthens your ethics? A Different Perspective Even with innate morality, harmful contexts can suppress ethical behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Environments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environments/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that justice is instinct and innate; the moral sense is as much a part of our constitution as the threat of feeling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-believe-that-justice-is-instinct-and-innate-the-moral-sense-is-as/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I believe that justice is instinct and innate, that the moral sense is as much a part of our constitution as that of feeling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-believe-that-justice-is-instinct-and-innate-that-the-moral-sense-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [By appreciating the darkness when you design the light, you create much more interesting environments that truly enhance our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rogier-van-der-heide/by-appreciating-the-darkness-when-you-design-the-light-you-create/) [Rogier van der Heide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rogier-van-der-heide/) > [A growing body of evidence suggests that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/a-growing-body-of-evidence-suggests-that-humans-do-have-a-rudimentary/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Natural selection shaped the human brain to be drawn toward aspects of nature that enhance our survival and reproduction, like verdant landscapes and docile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/natural-selection-shaped-the-human-brain-to-be-drawn-toward-aspects/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [If Christ would have left Christian ethics codified on the table, then he wouldn't produce moral beings choosing between good and evil, but conformists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-christ-would-have-left-christian-ethics-codified-on-the-table-then/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Human beings have rights, because they are moral beings: the rights of all men grow out of their moral nature; and as all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-grimke/human-beings-have-rights-because-they-are-moral-beings-the-rights-of-2/) [Angelina Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-grimke/) > [All human beings are moral beings. So, certainly there are alliances. We are in the countries, that are secular states, and we obey its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/all-human-beings-are-moral-beings-so-certainly-there-are-alliances-we/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [Who has ever attempted to draw a line of separation between the duties of men and women, as moral beings, without committing the grossest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-grimke/who-has-ever-attempted-to-draw-a-line-of-separation-between-the/) [Angelina Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-grimke/) > [“What makes us moral beings is that...there are some acts we believe we ought to die rather than commit...But now suppose that one has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/what-makes-us-moral-beings-is-that-there-are-some-acts-we-believe-we/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Human beings have rights, because they are moral beings: the rights of all men grow out of their moral nature; and as all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-grimke/human-beings-have-rights-because-they-are-moral-beings-the-rights-of/) [Angelina Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-grimke/) > [“What we know depends also on what, as moral beings, we choose to make ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-we-know-depends-also-on-what-as-moral-beings-we-choose-to-make/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“and I began to wonder if we were moral beings at all or simply savages who defined their private bigotries as necessary ethics, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/and-i-began-to-wonder-if-we-were-moral-beings-at-all-or-simply/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [When human beings are regarded as moral beings, sex, instead of being enthroned upon the summit, administering upon rights and responsibilities, sinks into insignificance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-grimke/when-human-beings-are-regarded-as-moral-beings-sex-instead-of-being/) [Angelina Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-grimke/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## More by Paul Bloom > [I have two teenage sons, and they're both surviving, thriving, and having a great time, and they're always on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-have-two-teenage-sons-and-they-re-both-surviving-thriving-and/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [If Inigo Montoya were around now, he wouldn't need to storm the castle to bring his father's murderer to justice; the police would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/if-inigo-montoya-were-around-now-he-wouldn-t-need-to-storm-the-castle/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Most of us know nothing about constitutional law, so it's hardly surprising that we take sides in the Obamacare debate the way we root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/most-of-us-know-nothing-about-constitutional-law-so-it-s-hardly/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [“Being a good person likely is more related to distanced feelings of compassion and kindness, along with intelligence, self-control, and a sense of justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/being-a-good-person-likely-is-more-related-to-distanced-feelings-of/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Imagination is Reality Lite - a useful substitute when the real pleasure is inaccessible, too risky, or too much work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/imagination-is-reality-lite-a-useful-substitute-when-the-real/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [One way to make a baby cry is to expose it to cries of other babies. There's sort of contagiousness to the crying. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/one-way-to-make-a-baby-cry-is-to-expose-it-to-cries-of-other-babies/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I want to convince you that humans are, to some extent, natural born essentialists. What I mean by this is we don't just respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-want-to-convince-you-that-humans-are-to-some-extent-natural-born/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [The fact that something can be used for good isn't necessarily a knockdown argument for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/the-fact-that-something-can-be-used-for-good-isn-t-necessarily-a/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [ Our best hope for the future \[...\] lies in an appreciation of the fact that, even if we don’t empathize with distant strangers, their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/our-best-hope-for-the-future-lies-in-an-appreciation-of-the-fact-that/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. When Obama wanted to bomb Syria, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/when-people-want-to-inspire-you-to-turn-against-some-group-of-people/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I'm very interested in why we do good things, or bad things, and where moral judgments come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-m-very-interested-in-why-we-do-good-things-or-bad-things-and-where/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I have my own difficulty with movies in which the suffering of the characters is too real, and many find it difficult to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-have-my-own-difficulty-with-movies-in-which-the-suffering-of-the/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I think what a lot of fiction is, is the imagining of the worst so as to prepare ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-think-what-a-lot-of-fiction-is-is-the-imagining-of-the-worst-so-as/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Morality is often seen as an innovation, like agriculture and writing. From this perspective, babies are pint-sized psychopaths, self-interested beings who need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/morality-is-often-seen-as-an-innovation-like-agriculture-and-writing/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) [Explore all 123 Paul Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) ## More Beings quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [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 > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [Everyone else on the planet, from the lowest amoebae to the great blue whale, expresses all their component elements in a perfect dance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/everyone-else-on-the-planet-from-the-lowest-amoebae-to-the-great-blue/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-cannot-deal-with-people-like-human-beings-we-cannot-deal-with-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spiritual beings, either from the beginning or soon thereafter, become what they are to be for ever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/spiritual-beings-either-from-the-beginning-or-soon-thereafter-become/) [Giovanni Pico della Mirandola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/) > [We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/we-re-human-beings-trying-to-love-each-other-there-are-constant/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for he sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/although-we-might-settle-for-less-heavenly-father-won-t-for-he-sees/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) Browse all 979 Beings quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral sense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Bloom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-environments-can-enhance-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-environments-can-enhance-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/paul-bloom-3720_beings_we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-en_2827553.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are naturally moral beings, but our environments can enhance - or, sadly, degrade - this innate moral…” — Paul Bloom", "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": "Paul Bloom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are naturally moral beings, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-environments-can-enhance-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/we-are-naturally-moral-beings-but-our-environments-can-enhance-or/#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 } } ] } ```