--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations…" description: "\"“Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with Elias late in his life, suggests that we are living through a new phase in the Civilizing Process. This is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg" --- # Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with Elias late in… ![“Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with Elias late in his life, suggests that we are living through a new phase in the Civilizing Process. This is the long-term trend of informalization I mentioned earlier, and it leads to what Elias called a “controlled decontrolling of emotional controls”…” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg) > ““Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with Elias late in his life, suggests that we are living through a new phase in the Civilizing Process. This is the long-term trend of informalization I mentioned earlier, and it leads to what Elias called a “controlled decontrolling of emotional controls” and what Wouters calls third nature.182 If our first nature consists of the evolved motives that govern life in a state of nature, and our second nature consists of the ingrained habits of a civilized society, then our third nature consists of a conscious reflection on these habits, in which we evaluate which aspects of a culture’s norms are worth adhering to and which have outlived their usefulness.”” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society evolves through stages: natural instincts, learned habits, and conscious reflection on cultural norms. **In simple terms:** We move from instinct to habit to thoughtful cultural critique. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness of cultural habits and their relevance. Themes sociology culture evolution Mood analytical thoughtful Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - personal development Key Concepts civilizing process informalization third nature Questions to Reflect On - What habits should we question? - How does conscious reflection shape society? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex cultural dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilized society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilized-society/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Emotional control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-control/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [The civilizing process has increased the distance between behavior and the impulse life of the animal body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoshana-zuboff/the-civilizing-process-has-increased-the-distance-between-behavior/) [Shoshana Zuboff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shoshana-zuboff/) > [We are born princes and the civilizing process makes us frogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-born-princes-and-the-civilizing-process-makes-us-frogs/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Self-control has been credited with one of the greatest reductions of violence in history, the thirtyfold drop in homicide between medieval and modern Europe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/self-control-has-been-credited-with-one-of-the-greatest-reductions-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“This so-called culture war, I suspect, is the product of a history in which white America took two different paths to civilization. The North…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/this-so-called-culture-war-i-suspect-is-the-product-of-a-history-in/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“One of the most impressive civilizing offensives of the 1990s came from African American communities, who set themselves the task of recivilizing their young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/one-of-the-most-impressive-civilizing-offensives-of-the-1990s-came/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“It was only as part of the civilizing process that storytelling developed within the aristocratic and bourgeois homes, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-zipes/it-was-only-as-part-of-the-civilizing-process-that-storytelling/) [Jack Zipes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-zipes/) > [It's hard for these athletes to stay healthy. They are constantly being bombarded with unhealthy advertising. Peer pressure can override the body's demand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kessel/it-s-hard-for-these-athletes-to-stay-healthy-they-are-constantly/) [John Kessel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kessel/) > [“Consider having as a friend, co-worker, or lover a person who in terms of emotional control and disguise was like a three-month-old infant, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ekman/consider-having-as-a-friend-co-worker-or-lover-a-person-who-in-terms/) [Paul Ekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ekman/) > [Emotional control is essential for attaining higher levels of mind. The thing that the teacher looks for in a student is the degree of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/emotional-control-is-essential-for-attaining-higher-levels-of-mind/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Anyone can visit the Astral plane by the mechanism of Astral projection. As a citizen of the universe, you have the absolute right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-vetsch/anyone-can-visit-the-astral-plane-by-the-mechanism-of-astral/) W. C. Vetsch > [There are a lot of parallels between the historical Henry VIII and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. There's an oscillation and extremity of emotion throughout his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/there-are-a-lot-of-parallels-between-the-historical-henry-viii-and/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [“Not enough people realize that ADHD is not a disorder about loss of focus. It is a disorder of loss of emotional control, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/not-enough-people-realize-that-adhd-is-not-a-disorder-about-loss-of/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“I am constantly approached by people who are willing to go to any extreme for personal safety...except practicing basic emotional control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-macyoung/i-am-constantly-approached-by-people-who-are-willing-to-go-to-any/) [Marc MacYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-macyoung/) > [“THE SEVEN TRAITS OF ELITE CAPTAINS 1. Extreme doggedness and focus in competition. 2. 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What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Explore all 495 Steven Pinker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## More Civilized society quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [“Science lacks something very important that religion provides: a moral code. 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Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [The practice of executing such offenders is a relic of the past and is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency in a civilized society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-stevens/the-practice-of-executing-such-offenders-is-a-relic-of-the-past-and/) [John Paul Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-stevens/) > [Democratic socialism means, that in a democratic, civilized society, the wealthiest people and the largest corporations must pay their fair share of taxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/democratic-socialism-means-that-in-a-democratic-civilized-society-the/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am for a system of universal health care where every American has health care as a fundamental right because I think that's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-delaney/i-am-for-a-system-of-universal-health-care-where-every-american-has/) [John Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-delaney/) > [Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/kindness-and-compassion-towards-all-living-things-is-a-mark-of-a/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Good sex is the basis of any truly civilized society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-a-waters/good-sex-is-the-basis-of-any-truly-civilized-society/) Gil A. Waters > [“Before our white brothers came to civilize us we had no jails. Therefore we had no criminals. You can't have criminals without a jail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lame-deer/before-our-white-brothers-came-to-civilize-us-we-had-no-jails/) John Lame Deer > [“Civilized" society is a hopeful belief and protest that science, money and goods make man count for more than any other animal. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/civilized-society-is-a-hopeful-belief-and-protest-that-science-money/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [I feel we all have the obligation, myself. 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This is the long-term trend of informalization I mentioned earlier, and it leads to what Elias called a “controlled decontrolling of emotional controls” and what Wouters calls third nature.182 If our first nature consists of the evolved motives that govern life in a state of nature, and our second nature consists of the ingrained habits of a civilized society, then our third nature consists of a conscious reflection on these habits, in which we evaluate which aspects of a culture’s norms are worth adhering to and which have outlived their usefulness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-with-elias-late-in-his-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilized society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-with-elias-late-in-his-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/steven-pinker-526_civilized-society_cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-wi_2224972.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with Elias late in his life, suggests that we are living through a…” — Steven Pinker", "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": "Steven Pinker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cas Wouters, inspired by conversations with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-with-elias-late-in-his-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cas-wouters-inspired-by-conversations-with-elias-late-in-his-life/#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 } } ] } ```