"If our essential nature is kind and compassionate, I'm just wondering how you account for all the conflicts and aggressive behaviors that are all around us." ... "Anger, violence, and aggression may certainly arise, but I think it's on a secondary or more superficial level; in a sense, they arise when we are frustrated in our efforts to achieve love and affection." [pages 54-55]
"I believe that our underlying or fundamental nature is gentleness, and intelligence is a later development. And I think that if that human ability, that human intelligence, develops in an unbalanced way, without being properly counterbalanced by compassion, then it can become destructive. It can lead to disaster. But I think that its important to realize that if human conflicts are created by misuse of human intelligence, we can also utilize our intelligence to find ways and means to overcome these conflicts. When human intelligence and human goodness or affection are used together, all human actions become constructive." [page 55]
Pages 56-62 are Cutler's analysis of the history of Western ideas about human nature. "Beginning in the earliest days of modern scientific psychology, there was an underlying assumption that all human motivation is ultimately egoistic, based purely on self-interest. .. In recent years, however, the tide appears to be turning on this profoundly pessimistic view of humanity, coming closer to the Dalai Lama's view." [pages 57-58] Cutler recounts research saying that humans are not innately aggressive or violent, and that we have a tendency towards altruism. He describes how the behavior of an infant can be used to "prove" either point of view, depending on how it is interpreted.
"Let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities -- warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful -- happier." [page 64]