Quotes About Ethics

do we Christians want to continue to enfranchise scoundrels who hold the right beliefs but perpetuate harm?

How one is remembered doesn't matter when one is focused on integrity.

By joining the anti-abortion movement, the once guilty are propelled from deep moral unease to a secure position of moral innocence and superiority, with the added social bonding that comes from uniting against a shared enemy whom they depict as murderous and vile. That's quite a set of perks for a very low price of membership (namely, agreeing to vote Republican in the United States—or its counterparts elsewhere).

Rand knew that people don't care if something doesn't work, as long as the dominant morality of altruism tells them that it is right.

Jess had pulled the trigger tonight. No cop did that without going through hell. It didn't matter who was on the other end of the bullet.

We are animals, yet are expected to be so much more. Although honor requires us to make altruistic decisions, even acting for the benefit of other people keeps coming back to self-interest, no matter how much one attempts to conceal it.

If you are born to power, you must prove you deserve it through good works—or give it up. To do any less is to act without conscience.

Humans were foolish to build their own competitors—but they couldn't help themselves. —ERASMUS, philosophical datanotes

If we give up our humanity to fight the machines, Zufa, then Omnius has already won!

The greatest of mankind's criminals are those who delude themselves into thinking they have done "the right thing." —RAYNA BUTLER, sermons on Salusa Secundus

Savant, doesn't it strike you as somewhat…hypocritical that we fight to keep humans free from the domination of machines, while at the same time some of our own League Worlds use slaves?

We can never atone for all the harm we cause in our lifetimes. We each make decisions based on personal priorities. In the process, people are invariably shunted aside. Someone suffers. —teaching of the new Philosophical Academy

The human race is bound not only by common genetics but also by universal standards of behavior. Those who do not willingly follow the guidelines of civilization can no longer be considered truly human. —Bene Gesserit axiom

Humans tried to develop intelligent machines as secondary reflex systems, turning over primary decisions to mechanical servants. Gradually, though, the creators did not leave enough to do for themselves; they began to feel alienated, dehumanized, and even manipulated. Eventually humans became little more than decisionless robots themselves, left without an understanding of their natural existence.

Since we are suboids, we have no participation in profits from Ixian technology. We have simple lives and few ambitions—but we do have our religion. We read the Orange Catholic Bible and know in our hearts what is right." The suboid speaker raised a massive, knuckled fist. "And we know that many of the things we've been building here on Ix are not right!

There are those who see influence and power as a reward rather than a responsibility. Such men do not make good leaders. —DIRECTEUR JOSEF VENPORT, internal Venport Holdings memo

Humans must never submit to animals. —Bene Gesserit Teaching

Logic and reason are deceptive. They can lead a person to lose his soul. —MANFORD TORONDO, speech on Salusa Secundus

If stated reasons don't sit well with your conscience or stand the test of logic, look for deeper motivations.

The law is not a ball of twine, to be picked at and unraveled until there is nothing left of it.

When grace is replaced by greed, and generosity is displaced by avarice, there is no limit to the depths of evil that can result.

There is no greater evil than killing. I don't care whether they call it war or justice. Life is precious.

There are enough cowards in the world without killing a brave creature for so little reason.

Why, because you think made-up stories have never resulted in actual casualties? Putting new ideas into another person's head is an aggressive act, aggressive acts have consequences. Face it, you can be a writer or a pacifist, but you can't be both.