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The Umbrella of Kindness Terms
A colour version of Figure 1 showing the related terms that sit beneath the umbrella of kindness.
Created using BioRender.com; courtesy of HF2025
Chapter 2· 2 resources
Defining Kindness and Capturing Its Essence
Kindness is a family of related ideas. This figure gathers the terms that shelter beneath its umbrella.
Defining Kindness
BookThoughts, Feelings and Fancies, 1857
“Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see”
This quote is attributed to Mark Twain, the American author. It highlights the universal and impactful nature of kindness and suggests that it transcends all forms of communication so that it is readily understood by everyone. Interestingly, it is unclear that Mark Twain came up with this quote even though digital media popularised the attribution to him. In fact, an earlier version of a similar quote came from a book published in 1857 called “Thoughts, Feelings and Fancies” by Christian Nestell Bovee: “Kindness is the language the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear and understand.”
Attributed to Mark Twain; earlier wording by Christian Nestell Bovee