Quotes About Motives

To point out nonepistemic motives in another's view of the world, therefore, is always a criticism, as it serves to cast doubt upon a person's connection to the world as it is.

Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action.

How working for the wrong motives poisons our creativity and warps our ideas of success and failure.

At bottom the character of M. Bonacieux was one of profound selfishness mixed with sordid avarice, the whole seasoned with extreme cowardice.

if you wish to find the guilty party, first discover whose interests the crime serves!

Politikada, sevgili oÄŸlum, benim kadar siz de bilirsiniz ki insanlar yoktur, düÅŸünceler vard?r; duygular yoktur, ç?karlar vard?r; politikada bir adam öldürülmez, bir engel ortadan kald?r?l?r, iÅŸte hepsi bu.

La terreur est une chose si peu raisonnée qu'elle s'excite ou se calme sans motifs plausibles.

patriotism and religion are the only two motives in the world which can permanently direct the whole of a body politic to one end.

No true power can be founded among men which does not depend upon the free union of their inclinations; and patriotism and religion are the only two motives in the world which can permanently direct the whole of the body politic to one end.

The love of wealth is . . . to be traced, either as a principal or an accessory motive, at the bottom of all that the Americans do...

I would have seen flaws in this, later in my life. I would have felt the impatience, even suspicion, a woman can feel towards a man who lacks a motive. Who has only friendship to offer and offers that so easily and bountifully that even if it is rejected he can move along as buoyantly as ever. Here was no solitary fellow hoping to hook up with a girl. Even I could see that, inexperienced as I was. Just a person who took comfort in the moment and in a sort of reasonable façade of life.

When men spoke of changing the world, they always meant to suit their own interests.

Never trust a man beyond his own interests.

Não existem atos que não sejam egoístas. Quando as pessoas fazem coisas para os outros, é sempre por causa dos seus próprios motivos psicológicos pessoais.

No one is willing to believe that adults too, like children, wander about this earth in a daze and, like children, do not know where they come from or where they are going, act as rarely as they do according to genuine motives, and are as thoroughly governed as they are by biscuits and cake and the rod.

We act unbelievingly and disobediently when, for whatever motive, we distort, falsify, or suppress the facts about our life in nature and history.

Your life will be joyful and complete when you have a pure heart and your motives are unsullied.

I agree with Schopenhauer that one of the most powerful motives that attracts people to science and art is the longing to escape from everyday life.

While behavior is almost always motivated, it is also almost always biologically, culturally and situationally determined as well.

When our true intentions are something other than providing help, such as getting a job done or beating someone in a game, we are most prone to falling into the traps described throughout this book.

Sincerity doesn't mean anything. A person can be sincere and be more destructive than a person who is insincere.

men are very largely actuated by motives which they conceal from themselves…It is evident that the successful propagandist must understand the true motives and not be content to accept the reasons which men give for what they do.

Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold — but so does a hard-boiled egg.

What makes them dangerous is their belief that they should not be stopped, that they are justified in what they do. I will not speak of my experiences in the war, but I will say this. The greatest evil occurs when people, no matter what their aims or their motives, become utterly convinced that they are right.