Quotes About Ethics

It is not possible to produce a set of rules purporting to describe what a man should do in every conceivable set of circumstances.

At the foundation of moral thinking lie beliefs in statements the truth of which no further reason can be given.

For Kant one can be both good and stupid; but for Aristotle stupidity of a certain kind precludes goodness.

Moral judgments are linguistic survivals from the practices of classical theism which have lost the context provided by these practices.

What am I to do?' if I can answer the prior question 'Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?

The introduction of the word 'intuition' by a moral philosopher is always a signal that something has gone badly wrong with an argument.

What this brings out is that modern politics cannot be a matter of genuine moral consensus. And it is not. Modern politics is civil war carried on by other means

The exercise of the virtues is itself a crucial component of the good life for man

Contemporary moral argument is rationally interminable, because all moral, indeed all evaluative, argument is and always must be rationally interminable. Contemporary moral disagreements of a certain kind cannot be resolved, because no moral disagreements of that kind in any age, past, present or future, can be resolved.

It's the people who don't worry—those who never have any doubts that what they're doing is good and right—they're the ones that cause the problems.

At one time, the treatment for a certain kind of psychosis had been to push an ice pick up through the orbit of the eye, into the frontal lobe; the ice pick was then stirred around until it reduced the problematic brain tissue to non-functioning porridge.

Cowards were exactly the kind of people you wanted around nuclear technology.

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters

What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.

The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with joy are goodness, beauty, and truth.

If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.

Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.

Never do anything against conscience, even if the state demands it.

Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

Always do what's right; this will gratify some and astonish the rest

It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.