To insult someone we call him 'bestial. For deliberate cruelty and nature, 'human' might be the greater insult.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that cruelty is a more human trait than the animalistic nature often attributed to us.
Isaac Asimov emphasizes the paradox of human behavior by contrasting the terms 'bestial' and 'human.' While bestial implies a lack of rationality and morality, Asimov argues that the calculated and deliberate cruelty that some humans exhibit is far more sinister, indicating that it is our humanity that can lead to the darkest actions.
In practice
In a debate about human nature, this quote could illustrate the depths of human cruelty.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
In order for sensation to accede to the objectivity of things, it must itself be changed into a thing. The agent of change is language: the sensations are turned into verbal objects.
I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue than why I have one.
Life is livable because we know that wherever we go most of the people we meet will be restrained in their actions towards us by an almost instinctive network of taboos.
There are certain things that we can deal with by following the rules. But at times, we find the rules restrict you from doing the right things. On such occasions, we have to rethink - either you change the rules or break the rules.
Our social and economic system cannot march toward better days unless it is inspired by things of the Spirit. It is here that the higher purposes of individualism must find their sustenance.
India may be a land of over a 100 problems, but it is also a place for a billion solutions.
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