Zachary Scott’s Reviews > Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection > Status Update

“Because the emotional system that governs human self-preservation was built for a primitive environment and simple, direct dangers, it can be extremely naïve. It is impressionable and prefers shallow, social, and anecdotal information to abstract data. But the same irrational processes that can bring us down can also be the foundation of our finest qualities as human beings.”

“Our sociality is central to who we are. Using loneliness as a window on human nature gets us beyond abstract (and therefore sometimes not terribly useful) debates about whether we are fundamentally Hobbesian beasts or ‘just a little lower than the angels.’ ”