The Concise Laws of Human Nature

Product Information

Humans think that we’re rational and in control of our lives, when in reality we’re driven by irrational emotions. We’re often guided by our emotional impulses—we seek pleasure, avoid pain and do things to soothe our ego. I understand why so many people love his books. He uses archaic language, mention all those names, places, and stories we heard about before. This creates the illusion of mystic knowledge and mystery hidden in every word. The root of the Latin word for envy, invidia, means “to look through, to probe with the eyes like a dagger.”" The first step toward becoming rational is to understand our fundamental irrationality. The most common emotion is the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Our thoughts almost inevitably revolve around this desire; we simply recoil from entertaining ideas that are unpleasant or painful to us. We imagine we are looking for truth, or being realistic, when in fact we are holding onto the ideas that bring the release from tension and soothe our egos and make us feel superior. This pleasure principle in thinking is the source of all of our mental biases.

The Concise Version Different? (48 Laws, Art Of How Is The Concise Version Different? (48 Laws, Art Of

Law of Generational Myopia: Seize the historical moment. We’re strongly defined by the generation that we’re born into. Realize how history moves in cycles across 4 generations, understand how your generation’s spirit affects you, and how/where you fit in the wider generational patterns. Then, use several strategies to exploit the spirit of the times. There was so much in this book that I found myself nodding along to, but there was more that was quite enlightening. I thought it would be motivational and inspiring but it's also actually kind of ... ruthless. I do not ask the wounded person how he feels. . . . I myself become the wounded person. —Walt Whitman" Law of Conformity: Resist the groups’ downward pull. We like to believe that we’re independent and progressive, but we can’t help conforming with our groups. Develop group intelligence by knowing how you’re individually influenced by groups and recognize the dynamics/patterns found in any group, then use 5 strategies to develop healthy groups with an upward pull.This book satisfies all three of my criteria. It satisfies the 2nd more than any book I've ever read. Robert really gets under your skin with this one.

The Laws of Human Nature: Greene, Robert: 9780143111375 The Laws of Human Nature: Greene, Robert: 9780143111375

A key insight is that most people can be categorized, despite their claims to the contrary. They are readable. Observe and classify them accordingly. Ignore their words. Focus on their actions. Listen to their declarations to see if they are unconsciously describing themselves when they criticize others. Contrarily, listen to their ideas with open-mindedness. They may know something that you can learn. too much history. Most of "examples" were just so utterly boring, and combining that with the manner of actual characters having fictional thoughts it was just too much. Which is exactly why such a high percentage of scientific discovery turns out to be incorrect, or at least not complete. There is a pattern, but it’s not THE pattern – or at least not the only pattern. And, of course, patterns tend to change over time for a nearly infinite number of reasons. My interests, on the other hand, tend more to philosophy than psychology and I do tend to believe that the Daoists make a very good point – reality (and human nature) is just too nuanced and complicated for our human brains to understand at the level we would need to lay out the laws of human nature.

TL;DR: If someone would re-write this book with the language we use in everyday life, without weird sentence constructions and without the approach of intern journalists (one side story,no real research) this book wouldn't be read by anyone. Discover your next non-fiction read and brilliant book gifts in the Profile newsletter, and find books to help you live well with Souvenir Press. Law of Grandiosity: Know your limits. Humans want to think highly of ourselves, to the point we tend to imagine our superiority. Learn to identify the signs of elevated grandiosity in yourself and in others, including the 6 common illusions of grandiose leaders and how you can adopt practical grandiosity. Law of Covetousness: Become an elusive object of desire. It’s human tendency to covet what we don’t have. Learn and apply the 3 strategies for stimulating desire.

Concise Laws Of Human Nature by Robert Greene | Goodreads Concise Laws Of Human Nature by Robert Greene | Goodreads

Do not imagine that the more extreme types of irrationality have somehow been overcome through progress and enlightenment. The irrational simply changes its looks and its fashions. As long as there are humans, the irrational will find its voices and means of spreading. Rationality is something to be acquired by individuals, not by mass movements or technological progress. Feeling superior and beyond it is a sure sign that the irrational is at work. So much of discovery is a search for patterns. What links to what? Which variables are related? But patterns aren’t always signs of connection or influence. They can be causal or merely coincidental. And they are seldom universal. Throughout the book, Greene also provides practical advice on how to apply these laws to our own lives. For instance, he suggests that mastering the art of observation can help us develop a deeper understanding of the people around us, while developing empathy can allow us to connect more effectively with others and build stronger relationships. whenever I see sentences about historic figures like "she thought about this and that" and the person has been dead for over 500 years, I just cringe. Even with extensive diaries (that not everyone has) noone can claim to KNOW what the person was thinking about at a certain moment. Let us rid death of its strangeness, come to know it. Let us have nothing on our minds as often as death. At every moment let us picture it in our imagination in all its aspects ... It is uncertain where death awaits us; let us await it everywhere. Premeditation of death is premeditation of freedom ... He who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. Knowing how to die frees us from all subjection and constraint." — Michel de MontaigneHe might have done the same in his other books as well. But for some reason these anecdotes don't work here. After a couple of chapters, I found myself skipping the anecdotes directly to the part where he explained a particular law. The Law of Repression. This chapter is basically about the Jungian concept of the shadow. Robert offers a few tips on how to creatively channel our shadow. Not much else to say about it really. If you're familiar with the shadow concept, this chapter presents nothing new aside from advice on how to integrate your shadow in your everyday life. It is advisable to let everyone of your acquaintance—whether man or woman—feel now and then that you could very well dispense with their company. This will consolidate friendship. Nay, with most people there will be no harm in occasionally mixing a grain of disdain with your treatment of them; that will make them value your friendship all the more. . . . But if we really think very highly of a person, we should conceal it from him like a crime. This is not a very gratifying thing to do, but it is right. Why, a dog will not bear being treated too kindly, let alone a man! —Arthur Schopenhauer" Personally I do not take the recollections of other people too seriously, because I feel most people (myself included) tend to exaggerate often, but Greene’s explanations for human nature really hit home for me. I look at the people I work with or see in the media and I can’t help but nod my head at how accurate the analysis seems to be. Whether the advice is useful or not is really a matter of trial and error.

The Concise Laws of Human Nature - Robert Greene - Google Books

Law of Death Denial: Contemplate common mortality. Instead of avoiding thoughts of death, leverage the paradoxical death effect–use the awareness of your mortality to make your life more productive and meaningful. Getting the Most from “The Laws of Human Nature” Of course its easier to say that people in France hate queues and love alcohol. Well written Robert. Instead you must work from within their self-opinion, empathizing with the injustices in their life and the difficulties they have faced. Now, with them feeling validated and mirrored, you have some latitude to make gentle corrections and even apply some reverse psychology (see the section below). Finally, the greatest obstacle you will face in developing these powers comes from a cultural prejudice against the very idea of influence: “Why can’t we all just be honest and transparent with one another, and simply ask for what we want? Why can’t we just let people be who they are and not try to change them? Being strategic is ugly and manipulative." Whenever anything goes wrong in our life, we seek an explanation Best generally emphasizes our helplessness., So we can then wallow in self-pity and feel bad for ourselves. But what causes us to go astray is our deep-rooted irrationality, the extent to which our minds are governed by emotion. The third in this highly anticipated series of books, The 33 Strategies of War, hit bookstores January 2006 and offers a strategic look behind the movements of War in application to everyday life. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, these books are also being hailed by everyone from war historians to some of the heaviest hitters in the rap world (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

although the mini-biographies are extremely interesting (especially if you haven’t heard of them before), the interpretation part is very, very dubious and in some cases outright wrong (Steve Jobs’ case). the book had an overall ominous connotation, everything and everyone being "so bad" in their human nature. I rarely get this kind of vibe from a book. I am not the most positive and cheerful person, but reading this just made me wonder how can anyone see humanity in such a bad light