Matthew Weiner Quotes

The major forces in human nature: self interest and caring for others

Altruism is one of the most fundamentally social impulses, and doing things for others without expecting anything in return is core to what makes us human. This is why, from the day Facebook Platform launched in 2007, Causes has been honored to be one of the most popular applications, with over 140 million users.

We have to move from the unbridled pursuit of self-gain at the expense of others to recovering appreciation for what we gain by caring and sharing with one another.

People are nicer than economists give us credit for. The economists cannot understand why people would work long and hard to clean up a community after a hurricane. … Most economists don’t have any interest in or understanding of psychology.

We have to think beyond ourselves.

There's always selfish behavior. There are lots of examples of people hoarding. But we've seen in this pandemic that the vast majority of behavior from normal citizens is actually pro-social in nature. People are willing to help their neighbors.

We seldom find people ungrateful so long as it is thought we can serve them.

If we all make a concerted effort and try to improve the life of someone else, then this world would be a better place to live in.

We know that young babies, as they become capable of moving voluntarily, will share. They will share food, for instance, with their siblings and with kids that are around. They will sooth. If they see somebody else in pain, even the youngest of toddlers will try to reach out and pat the person.

Altruism is innate, but it's not instinctual. Everybody's wired for it, but a switch has to be flipped.

Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender.

We've been trained since kindergarten: Be nice, be kind, share, put on a smile. So we're conditioned to squash our natural selfish instincts, and that's the right thing for society.

I have always believed helping your fellow man is profitable in every sense, personally and bottom line.

I just believe in the goodwill of people, the power of people to do something positive.

There would be no supporting life were we to feel quite as poignantly for others as we do for ourselves.

The great majority of people are calm, resourceful, altruistic or even beyond altruistic, as they risk themselves for others. We improvise the conditions of survival beautifully.

We have observed that, in society and the world in which we live, selfishness has increased more than love for others, and that men of good will must work, each with his own strengths and expertise, to ensure that love for others increases until it is equal and possibly exceeds love for oneself.

The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others.

If everyone does some good, think of what a good world this will be.

The duty of helping one's self in the highest sense involves the helping of one's neighbors.

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

There is always a type of man who says he loves his fellow men, and expects to make a living at it.

What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?

Humans have a lot of pro-social tendencies.

I fundamentally believe that people have a genuine desire to be positively engaged in the world around them.