Charles Bukowski Quotes

I think the most that I've learned has been, how do I put this? The innate goodness inside of all of us.

The truth is that goodness is hardwired in humanity.

I believe there's good in everybody.

There are those who do not hold that there is any innate goodness to mankind. To them I say, had you lived my life, you would not believe it. I have known the depths to which mortals are capable of descending, and I have seen the heights. I have seen how kindness and compassion may grow in the unlikeliest of places, as the mountain flower forces its way through the stern rock.

If it wasn't for good," my mother says, "we human beings would have been wiped out a long time ago. Either the monsters would have gotten us or we would have killed each other off with greed and jealousy and anger. So we have to believe in good. We have to look for the good in ourselves.

I believe we're brutes, but then, miraculously, there are those among us who stand up against that brutishness and remind us of the goodness we're capable of.

I've always thought, and it gets tested at times, that I have a great faith in the fundamental goodness of human beings.

He who hates vice hates men.

I feel it's in people's nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good.

It would be nice to feel that we are a better world, a world of more compassion and a world of more humanity, and to believe in the basic goodness of man.

I still have great faith in what is good and right in all of us.

Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.

Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.

I think it's more optimistic about human nature to acknowledge that people are the products of their time but then to see that they have moments of grace and dignity that everybody has.

We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

I believe in humans.

Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes, and men grow better as the world grows old.

Try to see the good in others. When you're tempted to judge someone, make an effort to see their goodness. Your willingness to look for the best in people will subconsciously bring it forth.

Underlying all the explanations, intellectual constructions and self-delusions, we can still know a good man when we see one.

I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

The act of feeling what you believe other people feel is morally corosive.... If we want to be good and caring people, if we want to make the world a better place, then we are better off withouit empathy.

My belief is that people are innately good and innately do want to help their fellow man.

Growing up a good person, it's a lot harder than you'd think.

I firmly believe there are no bad people.

The more kindness and justice are challenged, the more we must embrace them. Only when you are challenged - and only when you challenge yourself - do you discover what truly matters.