Quotes About Ethics

You are the man Alexandra described in her note as an 'unspeakable cad, vile libertine,' and 'despoiler of innocents'?" "I'm all that and more," Ian replied grimly.

Someone once called Lincoln two-faced. If I am two-faced, would I wear the face that I have now? Lincoln asked.

Anyone who's willing to run, I'm not willing to vote for.

Socrates is ambitiously searching for understanding of difficult concepts like virtue and courage. But his approach is always to question others, starting only from shared premisses. This kind of ad hominem arguing relies only on what the opponent accepts and what it produces, time after time, are conclusions as to what virtue, courage, friendship and so on are not.

some of Plato's most famous passages about the divided soul he represents the parts of the soul other than reason as non-human animals.

It seems worthwhile, then, to begin with virtue, rather than with a type of ethical theory, and to see what kind of account can be produced.

The first ethical move is not to abstract from my individual context, still less to discount it, but rather to understand what it consists in, to achieve self-knowledge as far as I can, and then to think about how best to live my life in these circumstances.

We ain't in the game to love these hoes, you suppose to hit it and pass it to the left. I didn't love that hoe, it was just something to do.

To understand that antiracist and antihomophobic politics are informed by a common ethical interest is to create the possibility of coalition across difference.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).

Lord, grant that my work increase knowledge and help other men. Failing that, Lord, grant that it will not lead to man's destruction. Failing that, Lord, grant that my article in Brain be published before the destruction takes place.

But do not be servile; never be a flunkey; and above all things avoid the intellectual prostitution which is the vice of our times in many trades and most professions. I mean by this the being a mere hired apologist for and defender of immorality, graft, dishonesty, or vice in any form. The intellectual prostitute may rise in the service, but he is a lost soul.

See that you give them a use value greater than the cash value you are taking from them.

Give everyone more in use value than you take from him in cash value. Then you are adding to the life of the world by every business transaction.

And above all things avoid the intellectual prostitution which is the vice of our times in many trades and most professions. I mean by this the being a mere hired apologist for and defender of immorality, graft, dishonesty, or vice in any form. The intellectual prostitute may rise in the service, but he is a lost soul. Respect yourself; be absolutely just to all;

Patriotism is considered to be an emotion a person ought to feel. But why? Why is it nobler to love your own country than to love someone else's?

I don't know about you, but I only have one life, and I don't want to spend it in a sewer of injustice.

It was surprising enough when strangely dressed religious leaders took over the government of such a large country as Iran. But now, these bin Ladenists? The tactics they've used are bloodthirsty, sadistic. They shamelessly show their pleasure when their enemies are killed. They touch their victims, they look at their faces. They film the killings! These are all things that we would never do--well, except on very rare occasions, like the time we killed bin Laden himself.

Wherever you find the greatest good, you will find the greatest evil, because evil loves paradise as much as good.

I know no way of discounting the doctrine that when you take something you want, and damn the consequences, then you had better be ready to accept whatever consequences ensue.

We made plenty of mistakes, but we never tripped anybody to gain an advantage, or took illegal shortcuts when no judge was around. We have all jogged and panted it out the whole way.

I must accept the justice of death and the injustice of more "life"; I had no right to remain a single hour.

The morality of the poet's radiant and productive atmosphere is the morality of the right sensation.

One can clearly see here that Buddhism is strongly opposed to any kind of war, when it lays down that trade in arms and lethal weapons is an evil and unjust means of livelihood.