Ethics Quotes | Beyond Motive 3/17

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Ethics Quotes

"Grandfather looked away from me and out to sea, and when he spoke, it was as though he spoke to himself. "The obligations of normal human kindness " chesed, as the Hebrew has it " that we all owe. But there's a kind of vanity in thinking you can nurse the world. There's a kind of vanity in goodness.I could hardly believe my ears. "But aren't we supposed to be good?"I'm not sure. Grandfather's voice was heavy. "I do know that we're not good, and there's a lot of truth to the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"Grandfather looked away from me and out to sea, and when he spoke, it was as though he spoke to himself. "The obligations of normal human kindness " chesed, as the Hebrew has it " that we all owe. But there's a kind of vanity in thinking you can nurse the world. There's a kind of vanity in goodness.I could hardly believe my ears. "But aren't we supposed to be good?"I'm not sure. Grandfather's voice was heavy. "I do know that we're not good, and there's a lot of truth to the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Madeleine L'Engle, American Novelist

Ethics, Kindness, Vanity, Goodness, Motivational

6

"The persistence of the story of animal consent into the contemporary era tells of a human appreciation of the stakes, and a desire to do the right thing."

"The persistence of the story of animal consent into the contemporary era tells of a human appreciation of the stakes, and a desire to do the right thing."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Ethics, Consent, Behavior, Morality

6

"Sacrifice does not mean the rejection of the worthless, but of the precious."

"Sacrifice does not mean the rejection of the worthless, but of the precious."

Ayn Rand, Russian Writer

Ethics, Sacrifice, Values, Worth, Choice

5

"Granny was an old-fashioned witch. She didn't do good for people, she did right by them."

"Granny was an old-fashioned witch. She didn't do good for people, she did right by them."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Ethics, Justice, Right, Help, Truth

5

"Violence is the tool of the barbarian; aggression is the method of the primitive; bloodshed is the way of the savage; cruelty is the manner of the brutish! To be called as a 'civilised,' man must be peaceable!"

"Violence is the tool of the barbarian; aggression is the method of the primitive; bloodshed is the way of the savage; cruelty is the manner of the brutish! To be called as a 'civilised,' man must be peaceable!"

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish Philosopher

Ethics, Power, Truth, Wisdom, Inspirational

5

"Right is right and wrong is wrong."

"Right is right and wrong is wrong."

Terrell Owens, American Athlete

Ethics, Right, Wrong

5

"Those who cultivate moral confusion for profit should understand this: we will name their names and shame them as they deserve to be shamed."

"Those who cultivate moral confusion for profit should understand this: we will name their names and shame them as they deserve to be shamed."

Bob Dole, American Politician

Ethics, Confusion, Name, Names, Profit

5

"The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right."

"The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right."

Leon Kass, American Educator

5

"The clue to book jacket photography is to look friendly and approachable, but not too glamorous."

"The clue to book jacket photography is to look friendly and approachable, but not too glamorous."

Antonia Fraser, British Author

Ethics, Photography

5

"Long ago, I stopped buying- let alone reading, books that talk about organizational success but fail to emphasize the importance of TRUST."

"Long ago, I stopped buying- let alone reading, books that talk about organizational success but fail to emphasize the importance of TRUST."

Assegid Habtewold, Ethiopian Author

Ethics, Trust, Leadership, Success, Knowledge

5

"Responsibility is not doing as we are told, that's obedience. Responsibility is doing what is right."

"Responsibility is not doing as we are told, that's obedience. Responsibility is doing what is right."

Simon Sinek, British Author

Ethics, Responsibility, Integrity, Obedience

5

"There is no real excellence in all of this world which can be separated from right living."

"There is no real excellence in all of this world which can be separated from right living."

David Starr Jordan, American Writer

Ethics, Excellence, Living, Right, World

5

"Sacrifice is the surrender of that which you value in favor of which you don't."

"Sacrifice is the surrender of that which you value in favor of which you don't."

Ayn Rand, Russian Writer

Ethics, Sacrifice, Values, Choices, Surrender

5

"You think because you are born of light that you're somehow better and kinder than those who aren't, but you're not. It merely makes you feel entitled in your wrongful actions against others. But, you're no better than my mother. If anything you're worse because you think your viciousness is justified..."

"You think because you are born of light that you're somehow better and kinder than those who aren't, but you're not. It merely makes you feel entitled in your wrongful actions against others. But, you're no better than my mother. If anything you're worse because you think your viciousness is justified..."

Sherrilyn Kenyon, American Author

Ethics, Humility, Justice, Self, Reflection

5

"Hypocrite: The man who murdered his parents, and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan."

"Hypocrite: The man who murdered his parents, and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan."

Abraham Lincoln, American Politician

Ethics, Hypocrisy, Mercy, Murder, Justice

5

"The sinner runs when no one is pursuing himMeaning: one's guilt will always haunt or live with him."

"The sinner runs when no one is pursuing himMeaning: one's guilt will always haunt or live with him."

Ikechukwu Joseph, Nigerian Motivational Speaker

Ethics, Guilt, Consequence, Morality, Awareness

5

"Somehow," she said coldly, "you have confused profitable and not profitable for right and wrong. I, however, have not."

"Somehow," she said coldly, "you have confused profitable and not profitable for right and wrong. I, however, have not."

Robin Hobb, American Author

Ethics, Morality, Profit, Decision

5

"Am I a good person? Deep down, do I even really want to be a good person, or do I only want to seem like a good person so that people (including myself) will approve of me? Is there a difference? How do I ever actually know whether I'm bullshitting myself, morally speaking?"

"Am I a good person? Deep down, do I even really want to be a good person, or do I only want to seem like a good person so that people (including myself) will approve of me? Is there a difference? How do I ever actually know whether I'm bullshitting myself, morally speaking?"

David Foster Wallace, American Writer

Ethics, Morality, Self, Truth, Reflection

5

"When you put yourself and your interest ahead of the people you intend to serve, it doesn't take long to find out that it's a recipe for disappointment."

"When you put yourself and your interest ahead of the people you intend to serve, it doesn't take long to find out that it's a recipe for disappointment."

Assegid Habtewold, Ethiopian Author

Ethics, Service, Leadership, Disappointment, Awareness

5

"Whether he acted rightly or not, I have never been sure. It was the future of a child that was at stake. A child, he felt, ought to be given the benefit of a doubt."

"Whether he acted rightly or not, I have never been sure. It was the future of a child that was at stake. A child, he felt, ought to be given the benefit of a doubt."

Agatha Christie, English Writer

Ethics, Doubt, Morality, Decision

5

"Sometimes you will do good and not get an acknowledgement for it. Don't let that dishearten you, the world is a better place with your good deeds."

"Sometimes you will do good and not get an acknowledgement for it. Don't let that dishearten you, the world is a better place with your good deeds."

Gift Gugu Mona, South African Motivational Speaker

Ethics, Altruism, Goodness, Action, Persistence

5

"Just how common do such savageries have to be for a decent person to be unable to overlook them? If you knew that one in one thousand food animals suffered actions like those described above, would you continue to eat animals? One in one hundred? One in ten?"

"Just how common do such savageries have to be for a decent person to be unable to overlook them? If you knew that one in one thousand food animals suffered actions like those described above, would you continue to eat animals? One in one hundred? One in ten?"

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Ethics, Suffering, Animals, Awareness

5

"The character to follow thru on commitments made to others is built by following thru on commitments made to self."

"The character to follow thru on commitments made to others is built by following thru on commitments made to self."

Orrin Woodward, American Author

Ethics, Character, Commitment, Integrity, Discipline

5

"Simulated ardor is a shameful form of lying."

"Simulated ardor is a shameful form of lying."

Charles Spurgeon, British Clergyman

Ethics, Lying, Falsehood, Deception, Integrity

5

"I do not admire the excess of a virtue like courage unless I see at the same time an excess of the opposite virtue, as in Epaminondas, who possessed extreme courage and extreme kindness. We show greatness not by being at one extreme, but by touching both at once and occupying all the space in between."

"I do not admire the excess of a virtue like courage unless I see at the same time an excess of the opposite virtue, as in Epaminondas, who possessed extreme courage and extreme kindness. We show greatness not by being at one extreme, but by touching both at once and occupying all the space in between."

Blaise Pascal, French Philosopher

Ethics, Virtue, Character, Courage, Kindness

5

"There are three marks of a superior man: being virtuous he is free from anxiety being wise he is free from perplexity being brave he is free from fear."

"There are three marks of a superior man: being virtuous he is free from anxiety being wise he is free from perplexity being brave he is free from fear."

Confucius, Chinese Philosopher

Ethics, Virtue, Wisdom, Bravery, Anxiety

5

"Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door."

"Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door."

William Blake, English Poet

Ethics, Compassion, Empathy, Warning

5

"Politeness [is] a sign of dignity, not subservience."

"Politeness [is] a sign of dignity, not subservience."

Theodore Roosevelt, American President

Ethics, Politeness, Dignity, Respect, Behavior

5

"Our response to the factory farm is ultimately a test of how we respond to the powerless, to the most distant, to the voiceless - it is a test of how we act when no one is forcing us to act one way or another. Consistency is not required, but engagement with the problem is."

"Our response to the factory farm is ultimately a test of how we respond to the powerless, to the most distant, to the voiceless - it is a test of how we act when no one is forcing us to act one way or another. Consistency is not required, but engagement with the problem is."

Jonathan Safran Foer, American Novelist

Ethics, Responsibility, Action, Engagement

5

"Moral' means one is free to enjoy only the things that belong to him and those he receives naturally and spontaneously. That is the ultimate meaning of morality."

"Moral' means one is free to enjoy only the things that belong to him and those he receives naturally and spontaneously. That is the ultimate meaning of morality."

Dada Bhagwan, Indian Spiritual Leader

Ethics, Morality, Truth, Power, Wisdom

5

"Unprofessionalism damages the business reputation and tarnishes the trust of society."

"Unprofessionalism damages the business reputation and tarnishes the trust of society."

Pearl Zhu, American Author

Ethics, Reputation, Trust, Business, Morality

5

"No man is so exquisitely honest or upright in living but that ten times in his life he might not lawfully be hanged."

"No man is so exquisitely honest or upright in living but that ten times in his life he might not lawfully be hanged."

Michel de Montaigne, French Philosopher

Ethics, Honesty, Law, Morality, Fallibility

5

"It's easy to talk big, but the important thing is whether or not you clean up the shit."

"It's easy to talk big, but the important thing is whether or not you clean up the shit."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Ethics, Responsibility, Action, Truth, Integrity

4

"Morality exists in the neurons as a natural sensation. Religion only tries to codify it."

"Morality exists in the neurons as a natural sensation. Religion only tries to codify it."

Abhijit Naskar, Indian Author

Ethics, Morality, Truth, Wisdom, Religion

4

"We are those who do not disconnect the values of their minds from the actions of their bodies, those who do not leave their values to empty dreams, but bring them into existence, those who give material form to thoughts, and reality to values."

"We are those who do not disconnect the values of their minds from the actions of their bodies, those who do not leave their values to empty dreams, but bring them into existence, those who give material form to thoughts, and reality to values."

Ayn Rand, Russian Writer

Ethics, Kindness, Truth, Love, Honesty

4

"Every vice leads to cruelty. Even a good emotion, pity, if not controlled by charity and justice, leads through anger to cruelty. Most atrocities are stimulated by accounts of the enemy's atrocities; and pity for the oppressed classes, when separated from the moral law as a whole, leads by a very natural process to the unremitting brutalities of a reign of terror."

"Every vice leads to cruelty. Even a good emotion, pity, if not controlled by charity and justice, leads through anger to cruelty. Most atrocities are stimulated by accounts of the enemy's atrocities; and pity for the oppressed classes, when separated from the moral law as a whole, leads by a very natural process to the unremitting brutalities of a reign of terror."

C. S. Lewis, British Author

Ethics, Cruelty, Justice, Pity, Emotion

4

"I consider marriage a very important institution, but it is important when and if two people have found the person with whom they wish to spend the rest of their lives-a question of which no man or woman can be automatically certain. When one is certain that one's choice is final, then marriage is, of course, a desirable state. But this does not mean that any relationship based on less than total certainty is improper. I think the question of an affair or a marriage depends on the knowledge and the position of the two persons involved and should be left up to them. Either is moral, provided only that both parties take the relationship seriously and that it is based on values."

"I consider marriage a very important institution, but it is important when and if two people have found the person with whom they wish to spend the rest of their lives-a question of which no man or woman can be automatically certain. When one is certain that one's choice is final, then marriage is, of course, a desirable state. But this does not mean that any relationship based on less than total certainty is improper. I think the question of an affair or a marriage depends on the knowledge and the position of the two persons involved and should be left up to them. Either is moral, provided only that both parties take the relationship seriously and that it is based on values."

Ayn Rand, Russian Writer

Ethics, Marriage, Love, Values, Certainty

4

"We are here simply to decide whether Congress should take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund the destruction of human embryos for research."

"We are here simply to decide whether Congress should take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund the destruction of human embryos for research."

Mike Pence, American Politician

Ethics, Americans, Congress, Destruction, Research

4

"The technological way of thinking has infected even ethics, which is supposed to be thinking about the good."

"The technological way of thinking has infected even ethics, which is supposed to be thinking about the good."

Leon Kass, American Educator

Ethics, Thinking

4

"I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

"I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

Jane Austen, British Writer

Ethics, Law, Justice, Usefulness, Desire

4

"The scrupulous survivors in life are the best counterweight to unscrupulous survivors."

"The scrupulous survivors in life are the best counterweight to unscrupulous survivors."

Janvier Chouteu-Chando, Cameroonian Author

Ethics, Survival, Morality, Responsibility

4

"The selfish and self-centered have a hard time being kind, even though you and I know that kindness is a source of relief to the soul."

"The selfish and self-centered have a hard time being kind, even though you and I know that kindness is a source of relief to the soul."

Janvier Chouteu-Chando, Cameroonian Author

Ethics, Kindness, Empathy, Selflessness, Morality

4

"Honesty doesn't mean you reveal everything you discern and feel. That is why we have the word discretion..."

"Honesty doesn't mean you reveal everything you discern and feel. That is why we have the word discretion..."

Assegid Habtewold, Ethiopian Author

Ethics, Honesty, Discretion, Awareness, Communication

4

"Trust isn't just the greatest currency, it's the only currency. Once trust is gone in any form of currency, the value is gone."

"Trust isn't just the greatest currency, it's the only currency. Once trust is gone in any form of currency, the value is gone."

Richie Norton, American Author

Ethics, Trust, Currency, Values, Relationship

4

"I am a human, I have a voice and I'm not shy to raise it for honesty and truth against mistreatment and lies. I'd rather die than go silent because I know my silence will never protect me from malice and my pretence will never give me peace and joy. Love me or hate me because I stand for truth no matter what and the truth will set me free."

"I am a human, I have a voice and I'm not shy to raise it for honesty and truth against mistreatment and lies. I'd rather die than go silent because I know my silence will never protect me from malice and my pretence will never give me peace and joy. Love me or hate me because I stand for truth no matter what and the truth will set me free."

Euginia Herlihy, South African Motivational Speaker

Ethics, Truth, Integrity, Courage, Expression

4

"Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us, shedding light over this world can alone help us."

"Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us, shedding light over this world can alone help us."

Walt Whitman, American Poet

Ethics, Morality, Action, Responsibility, Change

4

"HIGGINS. Have you no morals, man?DOOLITTLE [unabashed] Cant afford them, Governor. Neither could you if you was as poor as me."

"HIGGINS. Have you no morals, man?DOOLITTLE [unabashed] Cant afford them, Governor. Neither could you if you was as poor as me."

George Bernard Shaw, Irish Dramatist

Ethics, Morals, Poverty, Humor, Life

4

"If people begin to use the full power of conscience in all the choices they make in their everyday life, from presidential elections to purchasing things in the grocery store, the world will change."

"If people begin to use the full power of conscience in all the choices they make in their everyday life, from presidential elections to purchasing things in the grocery store, the world will change."

Ilchi Lee, South Korean Author

Ethics, Conscience, Power, Choice, World

4

"Conscience is the true power. It resides within us. The intention to be absolutely truthful and the willingness to put the benefit of all before personal benefit hold the power to change the world. !is intention and willingness is of course ethical choice, but it is also the most natural, reasonable, and intelligent choice when we realize what we really are. If people begin to use the full power of conscience in all the choices they make in their everyday life, from presidential elections to purchasing things in the grocery store, the world will change."

"Conscience is the true power. It resides within us. The intention to be absolutely truthful and the willingness to put the benefit of all before personal benefit hold the power to change the world. !is intention and willingness is of course ethical choice, but it is also the most natural, reasonable, and intelligent choice when we realize what we really are. If people begin to use the full power of conscience in all the choices they make in their everyday life, from presidential elections to purchasing things in the grocery store, the world will change."

Ilchi Lee, South Korean Author

Ethics, Conscience, Power, Benefit, Change

4

"The limitation of the ethical phenomenon to its place and time does not imply its rejection but, on the contrary, its validation. One does not use canons to shoot sparrows."

"The limitation of the ethical phenomenon to its place and time does not imply its rejection but, on the contrary, its validation. One does not use canons to shoot sparrows."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Theologian

Ethics, Philosophy, Truth, Validation

4

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