Philosophy & Thought: Ethics & Morality Quotes

"Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both"

Tryon Edwards, Theologian

"The laws of morals and the laws of music are the same"

Zoltan Kodaly, Composer

"The line between good and evil is permeable, and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces"

Philip Zimbardo, Psychologist

"Hell is paved with great granite blocks hewn from the hearts of those who said, I can do no other"

Heywood Broun, Journalist

"Everybody blames the culture without taking responsibility"

James Levine, Musician

"More often there's a compromise between ethics and expediency"

Peter Singer, Philosopher

"I'm a Utilitarian, so I don't see the rule against lying as absolute; it's always subject to some overriding utility which may prevent its exercise"

Peter Singer, Philosopher

"You might hold an ethical position that it's wrong to lie, but if you have plans for a war in Iraq, and you want to keep them secret for practical reasons - to reduce casualties, perhaps - and someone asks you about those plans, you may need to lie for a 'good' outcome"

Peter Singer, Philosopher

"We didn't defeat the Nazis by becoming Nazis"

Nick Clooney, Politician

"I would like us to think about it more explicitly, and not take our intuitions as the given of ethics, but rather to reflect on it, and be more open about the fact that something is an ethical issues, and think what we ought to do about it"

Peter Singer, Philosopher

"All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance"

Theodore Hesburgh, Clergyman

"Vice is a creature of such hideous mien... that the more you see it, the better you like it"

Finley Peter Dunne, Journalist

"The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing"

Leigh Hunt, Poet

"What do I owe to my times, to my country, to my neighbors, to my friends? Such are the questions which a virtuous man ought often to ask himself"

Johann Kaspar Lavater, Theologian

"Every man has his moral backside which he refrains from showing unless he has to and keeps covered as long as possible with the trousers of decorum"

Georg C. Lichtenberg, Scientist

"The duty of the Church is not only to teach the ignorant, but to correct the erring, and to punish, according to their deserts, those who sin presumptuously"

Pope Gregory IX, Pope

"We already know that anonymous letters are despicable. In etiquette, as well as in law, hiring a hit man to do the job does not relieve you of responsibility"

Judith Martin, Author

"That we have children coming into this world already polluted, at the same time we don't know what the effects of that pollution will be on their mental and physical development, is both bad policy and immorally wrong"

Louise Slaughter, Politician

"All religions have based morality on obedience, that is to say, on voluntary slavery. That is why they have always been more pernicious than any political organization. For the latter makes use of violence, the former - of the corruption of the will"

Alexander Herzen, Journalist

"They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something"

Michael Crichton, Author

"We are born charming, fresh, and spontaneous, and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society"

Judith Martin, Author

"In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right"

Ellen Goodman, Journalist

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society"

Jiddu Krishnamurti, Philosopher

"But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go"

Charles de Secondat, Philosopher

"Philosophy should always know that indifference is a militant thing. It batters down the walls of cities and murders the women and children amid the flames and the purloining of altar vessels. When it goes away it leaves smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayonetted through the throat. It is not a children's pastime like mere highway robbery"

Stephen Crane, Writer

"Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power"

William Gaddis, Novelist

"If you only take offense when the president of your party is compared to Hitler, then you're part of the problem"

John Avlon, Writer

"Ignorance and inconsideration are the two great causes of the ruin of mankind"

John Tillotson, Theologian

"Philanthropic humility is necessary if a giver is to do more good than harm, but it is not sufficient - philanthropic prudence is also needed"

Marvin Olasky, Educator

"Nothing is less important than which fork you use. Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor"

Emily Post, Author

"The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards"

Irving Babbitt, Critic

"Today, we can see with our own eyes what global warming is doing. In that context, it becomes truly irresponsible, if not immoral, for us not to do something"

Joe Lieberman, Politician

"One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real"

Klaus Kinski, Actor

"An animal that embarks on forming states without greatly restricting egoism will perish"

Erwin Schrodinger, Scientist

"You don't have to teach people how to be human. You have to teach them how to stop being inhuman"

Eldridge Cleaver, Activist

"Kinsey thought that Freud in his own way was as dangerous as the Catholic Church"

Bill Condon, Director

"I'd rather go naked than wear fur"

Christy Turlington, Model

"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil"

Jerry Garcia, Musician

"Chastity is the cement of civilization and progress. Without it there is no stability in society, and without it one cannot attain the Science of Life"

Mary Baker Eddy, Theologian

"The law of humanity ought to be composed of the past, the present, and the future that we bear within us; whoever possesses but one of these terms has but a fragment of the law of the moral world"

Edgar Quinet, Historian

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