The Laws of Human Nature Book Summary - The Laws of Human Nature Book explained in key points

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The Laws of Human Nature summary

Name: The Laws of Human Nature
Rating: 4.5 (554 reviews)
Author: Robert Greene

Robert Greene

What affects your day-to-day life

4.5 (554 ratings)

29 mins

Brief summary

The Laws Of Human Nature by Robert Greene is a guide to understanding human behavior and using this knowledge to improve your relationships, career, and personal growth.

Topics

Personality Manipulation Success

Table of Contents

The Laws of Human Nature
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Learn about the aspects of human nature that affect your day-to-day life.

Who doesn’t want to make better decisions? Well, the key to this is to better understand the influences involved and our underlying motivations.

These blinks aim to highlight the aspects of human nature that go overlooked or are under-discussed and make sure that we understand just how influential they can be. For the most part, we don’t like to admit that we’re envious, self-centered and prone to group mentality. However, we all have these tendencies. Once we acknowledge these aspects of human nature, we can begin to make the best of it by curbing these impulses or even using them to our advantage.

We are all complex individuals, but there are parts of the human experience that touch us all. With a better understanding of human nature, you can start to live a better life with more control over your impulses.

In the following blinks, you’ll find

why it’s better to have a farsighted perspective;
why you should always maintain a “reality group;” and
why it’s beneficial to keep death in mind.

We are all prone to irrational behavior.

We like to think that modern human beings are a clever and highly rational bunch. But the truth is we tend to make a lot of our decisions based on the emotions we feel at any given moment, which means we’re often pretty irrational.

This struggle between our emotional and rational sides has gone on for ages. One of the early champions of rational behavior was Pericles, a well-respected statesman in Athens around the fifth century BC.

When Athens was under threat of attack by the Spartans, Pericles was able to convince leaders to show restraint and not engage in all-out war. Unfortunately, his wisdom didn’t prevail when Athens was struck by the plague and Pericles died. Instead, emotions took over and resulted in a costly and drawn-out war that brought Athens to its knees.

The secret to Pericles’s wisdom was patience, and this is what we still need to rely on to curb our irrational decisions. If there was a problem or important decision to be made, Pericles would withdraw to his home and calmly think it over, consider all the potential consequences and make the decision that’s in everyone’s best interest, not just the leaders or wealthiest people.

So, whenever possible, increase your reaction time so that you’re not making decisions in the heat of an emotional moment. And meanwhile, try to consider all the possible biases influencing the decision.

There are a number of these, including confirmation bias, where we tend to seek out information that supports our prejudices, and conviction bias, that leads us to believe that the stronger our emotions are, the more something must be true.

Other biases include the appearance bias, which leads us to believe that someone who looks appealing, whether it’s attractive or rich, must somehow be of good character. Then there’s the group bias, which leads us to believe whatever the group we belong to suggests. For example, if you’re a member of a right or left-leaning political party, you might agree with every one of the party standpoints without considering alternate views.

Our biases can easily lead to bad decisions, so it’s always good to be skeptical, analytical and curious about differing viewpoints. Plus, it’s wise to balance thinking with your emotions. You don’t have to be an emotionless robot when making a decision, but you’re bound to make better decisions when you’re feeling calm.

We’re all narcissistic to some degree, and we should judge character by actions, not appearances.

Along with our tendencies to be irrational, human nature also carries with it the need for a certain amount of attention and self-absorption. In fact, by our very nature, we’re all narcissistic to some extent. This means each of us exists on a spectrum, ranging from healthy levels of narcissism to deep narcissism.

Deep narcissists are usually people with a faulty sense of self, where they see other people as an extension of themselves. This can be traced back to childhood and the years between two and five years old, the age when a person stops seeing themselves as an extension of their mother and develops a sense of individual personhood.

We should strive to be of superior character and use covetous behavior to our advantage.

Each and every one of us has a character that is a mix of strong and weak qualities. Some of these qualities we gain genetically, others are from our upbringing. Then there are the ones we pick up later in life. For example, researchers have found evidence that some newborns are more hostile than others, suggesting that our aggression levels are genetic.

But our innate traits aren’t a prison. We can control them, and even weak ones can be used to our advantage. No matter the cards we’ve been dealt in life, we can strive to be of superior character.

Everyone is prone to being short-sighted and defensive.

You might wonder why so much money and attention goes toward fighting terrorism while global warming, which affects all living things on the planet, is trivialized.

The reason is very much tied to human nature. You’re far more likely to react to something that’s right in front of you here and now. This short-sightedness goes back a long way, to when survival was based on immediate concerns, such as finding food and water and avoiding violent predators like the saber-toothed tiger.

Prevent self-sabotage by employing a positive attitude and avoiding repression.

Do you ever feel like you’re cursed, or perhaps doomed to failure? If so, it’s likely due to certain unhelpful traits that you need to recognize and get under control. When you look within and see what’s repeatedly causing the same negative outcomes, then you can turn things around and avoid future calamities.

Believe it or not, one of the main contributors to self-sabotage is a negative attitude. Fortunately, that’s something you can change.

Everyone is prone to feelings of grandeur, which should be brought down to reality.

If you know someone who’s experienced even a little success, you may have looked on in wonder as that success went to their head and they proceeded to lose touch with reality. This is known as the Law of Grandiosity.

Take the career of Michael Eisner: In 1976, Eisner made the leap from successful TV executive to head of the Paramount film studio. During his tenure, Paramount had a string of hits, even becoming the leading studio in Hollywood for a period.

We should all try to prevent our tendency toward gender repression and aimlessness.

In 1463, Caterina Sforza was born into a powerful dynasty in Milan, Italy, giving her the chance to pursue whatever interests she had.

From a young age, Caterina had been drawn to physical combat training as well as fashion and the arts, so she became a student of both. In other words, Caterina was free to indulge both her feminine and masculine sides, becoming a strong figure who fascinated both the men and women of Milan. This universal fascination is something that artists like David Bowie achieve as well, when they explore both the masculine and feminine parts of their personality.

We tend to conform to group mentality and feel a false sense of entitlement.

We like to think of ourselves as unique, civilized and sophisticated individuals with independent minds. But if we pay close attention to human nature, we see that we also spend a lot of time worrying about what others think and how well we fit into certain groups.

While it’s true that we’ve come a long way from our tribal roots, we still tend to devolve into primitive, reactionary thinking when we’re part of a group. It’s not a pleasant thing to consider, but we’d all be better off to recognize that this tendency is within all of us.

All human beings are aggressive by nature, but controlled aggression can be put to good use.

In the mid-nineteenth century, businessman Maurice Clark met an unassuming guy who came from a troubled background. This was John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller’s father had been a notorious con man who would often take off suddenly, leaving his family with barely enough money to keep from starving.

Clark didn’t know it at the time, but Rockefeller’s childhood left him with an obsession for accumulating money and being in control of an orderly and predictable environment – the things he’d grown up without. All Clark saw was a guy who was deeply religious and had a knack for irritating him to no end.

We are all influenced by generational values and can benefit from embracing the fact of death.

Back in the fourteenth century, the Egyptian historian Ibn Khaldun suggested that generations run in a cycle of four different types.

The first is a revolutionary generation that brings about great change, which is followed by a generation of order and stability. The third generation focuses on pragmatism and comfort, while the fourth generation is one of inquiry and cynicism. The trends in this pattern aren’t set in stone, but we can see how each generation is influenced and responds to the one that came before it.

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What is The Laws of Human Nature about?

The Laws of Human Nature (2018) takes an in-depth look at the many aspects of the human condition that often go overlooked or unacknowledged. As author Robert Greene explains, we are all a bit narcissistic, irrational, short-sighted and prone to compulsive and aggressive behavior. But once we accept and start to understand these aspects of human nature, we can begin to control and even benefit from them.

The Laws of Human Nature Review

The Laws Of Human Nature (2018) offers insightful lessons on human behavior and how to harness it for personal success. Here's why you should read this book:

It provides a comprehensive understanding of the psychological forces that drive people's actions.
The book's exploration of historical figures and events makes it a fascinating read.
It offers practical strategies for improving relationships and achieving your goals.

Unlock the secrets of human nature and enhance your life with The Laws Of Human Nature.

Best quote from The Laws of Human Nature

By some perverse force within us, the moment we possess something or get what we want, our minds begin to drift toward something new…

—Robert Greene

Who should read The Laws of Human Nature?

Students of psychology and human nature
Those seeking to understand their behavior
People who want to live a better life

About the Author

Robert Greene is a New York Times bestselling author whose books often examine what it is that makes great minds tick. His work has been admired by historians and business executives alike for its insight into the lives of important historical figures and their winning strategies. His previous books include The 48 Laws of Power (2000), The 33 Strategies of War (2006) and Mastery (2013).

Categories with The Laws of Human Nature

Nature & the Environment Career & Success Personal Development Society & Culture Psychology Management & Leadership Sex & Relationships

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