Hope for Cynics Quotes

“Cynicism is a lack of faith in people; skepticism is a lack of faith in our assumptions. Cynics imagine humanity is awful; skeptics gather information about who they can trust.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynics call out injustice wherever they see it, but that doesn’t mean they are change-makers. In surveys of tens of thousands of people across dozens of countries, people who trust others are more likely than cynics to vote, sign petitions, join lawful demonstrations, and occupy buildings in protest.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynicism is a lack of faith in people; skepticism is a lack of faith in our assumptions. Cynics imagine humanity is awful; skeptics gather information about who they can trust. They hold on to beliefs lightly and learn quickly.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Beliefs are assumptions or conclusions; values are the parts of life that bring a person meaning. Beliefs reflect what you think of the world; values reveal more about yourself. Confusing these two can be dangerous business. When someone attaches their self-worth to a belief—political, personal, or otherwise—they desperately need to be right. Challenges to what they think feel like threats to how they think—evidence they aren’t smart or good enough. The person screaming loudest is often most fearful of being wrong.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“I have discovered that most people value compassion over selfishness, that donating money activates similar parts of your brain as eating chocolate, and that helping others through their stress soothes our own. The message of our work is simple: There is good in us, and it does good for us.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Our beliefs influence how we treat other people, which shapes how they act in return. Thoughts change the world, and cynicism is turning ours into a meaner, sadder, sicker place. All of this is deeply unpopular. Americans trust one another less than before, but 79 percent of us also think people trust too little. We loathe political rivals, but more than 80 percent of us also fear how divided we’ve become. Most of us want a society built on compassion and connection, but cynicism convinces us that things will get worse no matter what we do. So, we do nothing, and they worsen.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Political hopelessness feels smart, and the idea that nations could find harmony starts to seem simpleminded and dangerous. Ironically, these cynical views about rivals are themselves clearly naive. But as political hopelessness charges on, it helps the most duplicitous political elites. So long as we think productive exchange is impossible, they don’t have to work toward it. So long as we fight over partisan identities, the struggles that most of us share—such as rising inequality—remain under the radar.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“As the famous saying goes, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” But research suggests it deserves more credit than that.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“opposite. In studies of over two hundred thousand individuals across thirty nations, cynics scored less well on tasks that measure cognitive ability, problem-solving, and mathematical skill. Cynics aren’t socially sharp, either, performing worse than non-cynics at identifying liars.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Studies find that cynical adolescents are more likely than non-cynics to become depressed college students, and cynical college students are more likely to drink heavily and divorce by middle age. Non-cynics earn steadily more money over their careers, but cynics financially flatline. Cynics are more likely to suffer heartbreak—and heart disease.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“As a neuroscientist, I learned that our brains don’t really see the world, they just interpret it. So, losing my body is not really a loss after all! What I am to you is really a reflection of your own mind. I am, and always was, there, in you.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“In a 2010 study, 64 percent of parents who put money in 529 accounts wrongly reported that they had "not used a government social program." The government gives this money away so easily that two out of every three people who receive it don't even notice. Wealthy Americans live in a welfare state invisible to nearly everyone, including themselves.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynical stories can become self-fulfilling, but hopeful ones can, too. By feeling--and wielding--the power of trust instead, we can transform cynicism's vicious cycle into a more virtuous one.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“If cynicism were a pill, its warning label would list depression, heart disease, and isolation. In other words, it'd be a poison.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynical people take preemptive strikes and bring out the worst in others. Hopeful individuals take leaps of faith and bring out others' best. . . . Outrage is contagious, but so are curiosity and humility.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“The point is that we don't know what will happen, and can still make choices that matter.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Relationships falter when people don't realize how much language can harm; cast-off insults by a parent, friend, or lover slip under our skin like a splinter.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“With great power comes great responsibility, but with ANY power comes SOME responsibility.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynicism takes root in our amnesia.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Studies reveal a recipe for disagreeing better:
1) Good disagreers ask questions instead of making statements.
2) They work to get underneath people's opinions to their stories.
3) When they spot common ground, good disagreers name it.
4) When they are unsure about something, they say so rather than pretending to be confident.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“There could be meaning in the struggle. The premise is set: "The boulder must be pushed," Emile announced. "Whether it is a comedy, a drama, or a tragedy is up to the one pushing.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Decades later, Hardin recalled this as a crucial lesson from the farm. Killing was not always cruel; sparing something was not always kind.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Grief is a muscle," Stephanie reflects. "The weight of what you've lost doesn't diminish but you get better at carrying it.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Lawyering is a fine way to argue, but a terrible way to learn. A growing science finds that real wisdom arrives when people know what they don't know. Likewise, social wisdom doesn't mean believing in everyone or no one. It means believing in evidence--by thinking less like a lawyer and more like a scientist. And despite the different instruments they use, all sorts of scientists share an intellectual tool: skepticism, the questioning of old wisdom and hunger for more information. Skeptics update their beliefs based on new information, allowing them to adjust to a complex world.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“You might think that beliefs and values are like chocolate and dark chocolate--different flavors of the same thing. In fact, they're quite different. Beliefs are assumptions or conclusions; values are the parts of life that bring a person meaning. Beliefs reflect what you think of the world; values reveal more about yourself. Confusing these two can be dangerous business. When someone attaches their self-worth to a belief--political, personal, or otherwise--they desperately need to be right. Challenges to what they think feel like threats to HOW they think--evidence they aren't smart or good enough. The person screaming loudest is often most fearful of being wrong.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynicism and skepticism are often confused for each other, but they couldn't be more different. Cynicism is a lack of faith in people; skepticism a lack of faith in our assumptions. Cynics imagine humanity is awful; skeptics gather information about who they can trust. They hold on to beliefs lightly and learn quickly.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Our beliefs influence how we treat other people, which shapes how they act in return. Thoughts change the world ...”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Being alone feels easy”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“one study, people who agreed with Cook and Medley’s bleak statements about humanity were also more likely to say they depended on prestige and status for a sense of self-worth, and to worry they didn’t measure up socially. Needing to prop themselves up, they searched for evidence that could put others down.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness

“Cynicism is not a radical worldview. It’s a tool of the status quo. This is useful to elites, and propagandists sow distrust to better control people.”
― Jamil Zaki, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness