"To say that authority, whether secular or religious, supplies no ground for morality is not to deny the obvious fact that it supplies a sanction"
- Joseph Addison
About this Quote
This quote by Joseph Addison suggests that authority, whether nonreligious or religious, does not give a basis for morality, however it does supply a type of enforcement. In other words, authority can supply a feeling of obligation to follow specific values, but it does not necessarily provide a reason for why those codes should be followed. This is an important difference to make, as it suggests that principles is not something that can be imposed from the outside, however rather something that must originate from within. It depends on people to determine what is appropriate and also incorrect, and also authority can just offer a method of applying those decisions. Ultimately, it depends on each person to determine what is moral as well as what is not.
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