24+ Robert Wright Quotes On Education, Civil War And Architecture

Robert Wright is an American journalist, author, and professor of journalism and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is best known for his books The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and The Evolution of God, which explore evolutionary psychology, game theory, and history of religion. He is also the founder of the popular blog, The Meaning of Life, which focuses on evolutionary psychology, religion, and philosophy. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Robert Wright on leadership, education, civil war.

Top 10 Robert Wright Quotes

1. ...human beings are a species splendid in their array of moral equipment, tragic in their propensity to misuse it, and pathetic in their ignorance of the misuse.
2. Like a lawyer, the human brain wants victory, not truth; and, like a lawyer, it is sometimes more admirable for skill than virtue.
3. Jesus is not from Georgia. Jesus does not speak English. And Jesus is not a member of the NRA.
4. In the great non zero sum games of history, if you're part of the problem, then you'll likely be a victim of the solution.
5. Next time you see an unblemished expanse of grass, think about the chemicals that probably got dumped in your vicinity to create it. Are you grateful for that?
6. If there's one thing I can encourage everyone to do: ... Expand the moral imagination.
7. Giving men marriage tips is a little like offering Vikings a free booklet titled How Not to Pillage.
8. We are built to be effective animals, not happy ones.
9. Religion is a feature of cultural evolution that, among other things, addresses anxieties created by cultural evolution; it helps keep social change safe from itself.
10. ..various people had long had the feeling that gain through pain was nature's way

Robert Wright Famous Quotes And Sayings

Your brain may give birth to any technology, but other brains will decide whether the technology thrives. The number of possible technologies is infinite, and only a few pass this test of affinity with human nature. — Robert Wright

Next time you see a yardful of sprouting dandelions, note that they look remarkably like things we call "flowers." And later, when the flowers turn into fluff balls, look closely at one of those fluff balls and ask yourself whether it's really so unattractive. — Robert Wright

We're all puppets, and our best hope for even partial liberation is to try to decipher the logic of the puppeteer. Just because natural selection created us doesn't mean we have to slavishly follow its peculiar agenda. (If anything, we might be tempted to spite it for all the ridiculous baggage it's saddled us with.) — Robert Wright

Understanding the often unconscious nature of genetic control is the first step toward understanding that—in many realms, not just sex—we’re all puppets, and our best hope for even partial liberation is to try to decipher the logic of the puppeteer. — Robert Wright

God knows greed won't vanish. Neither will hatred or chauvanism. Human nature is a stubborn thing. But it isn't beyond control. Even if our core impulses can;t be banished, they can be tempered and redirected. — Robert Wright

Humans have various ways of coping with extended stress, and one is the anticipation of a better time. Here, as with retribution, there is often a kind of symmetry: the more intense the stress and the more hopeless the situation, the more fabulous the coming times that are anticipated. — Robert Wright

Think of it : zillions and zillions of organisms running around, each under the hypnotic spell of a single truth, all these truths identical, and all logically incompatible with one another : 'My hereditary material is the most important material on earth; its survival justifies your frustration, pain, even death'. And you are one of those organisms, living your life in the thrall of a logical absurdity. — Robert Wright

Once you the forces that govern behavior,it's harder to blame the behaver — Robert Wright

Actually, there is a sense in which polygynous marriage has not been the historical norm - even where polygyny is permitted, multiple wives are generally reserved for a relatively few men who can afford them or qualify via formal rank. For eons and eons, most marriages have been monogamous, even though most societies haven't been — Robert Wright

Maybe the growth of "God" signifies the existence of God. That is: if history naturally pushes people toward moral improvement, toward moral growth, and their God, as they conceive their God, grows accordingly, becoming morally richer, then maybe this growth is evidence of some higher purpose, and maybe - conceivably - the source of that purpose is worthy of the name divinity. — Robert Wright

Being a person's true friend means endorsing the untruths he holds dearest. — Robert Wright

Corruption is knowing when something is not being done, knowing when the American people are being left unprotected and when you make a decision not to do something to protect the American people And you effectively allow 9/11 to occur. That is the ultimate form of government corruption-dereliction of duty. That's subject in the military to prosecution, to court martial. Frankly, if not treason. — Robert Wright

If two people stare at each other for more than a few seconds, it means they are about to either make love or fight. Something similar might be said about human societies. If two nearby societies are in contact for any length of time, they will either trade or fight. The first is non-zero-sum social integration, and the second ultimately brings it. — Robert Wright

Even before there were homo sapiens, feelings like compassion and love and sympathy had earned their way into the gene pool. — Robert Wright

Life Lessons by Robert Wright

1. Robert Wright's work emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexities of global issues and the need for collaboration between different nations and cultures.
2. He also encourages readers to think critically and to challenge their own preconceived notions about the world.
3. Finally, Wright's work reminds us that progress is possible through the power of dialogue and understanding.