Nayef Al-Rodhan on Human Nature

"All policies should be packaged with full awareness of the limitation of human nature in both the short- and the long-term."

"Policies should take account of the emotional dimensions of human behaviour rather than assuming rational action."

"A set of global values in keeping with human nature and dignity need to be identified and developed."

"There is only one collective human civilisation comprised of geo-cultural domains and cultures."

"Humankind is an insignificant part of existence."

"Globalization is a process that encompasses the causes, course, and consequences of transnational and transcultural integration of human and non-human activities."

"A good governance paradigm that limits excesses of human nature and ensures an atmosphere of happiness and productivity by promoting reason and dignity is required."

"Human nature is governed by general self-interest and affected by genetic predisposition, which implies that there are likely to be limits to our moral sensitivities."

"Policies that assume that human nature is a tabula rasa should be reviewed and revised to reflect that man has an in-built genetic code for survival with no evidence for innate morality."

"Circumstances will determine what I term the survival value of humankind’s moral compass. Being highly moral in an immoral environment will almost certainly be detrimental to one’s survival and vice versa."

"Humankind is conceived as primarily motivated by neurochemically mediated emotions resulting from genetic make-up and environmental influences, employing reason and engaging in conscious reflection only occasionally."

"Cultural and ethnic diversity benefit humanity’s future, survival, strength and excellence, promoting what I call cultural vigour, similar to the way in which molecular and genetic diversity promote “hybrid vigor” in nature and thus strength, resilience and a higher potential for a problem-free future."

"Human nature as we know it is, nevertheless, malleable and manageable. It may be radically modified as a result of advances in bio-, molecular, nano- and computational technologies. It will therefore be essential to establish a clear code of ethics regulating the use of these technologies sooner rather than later."