Ethics is the study of what is morally right and wrong, or a set of beliefs about what is morally right and wrong. Profoundly inspirational ethics quotes will brighten up your day and make you feel ready to take on anything.
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Famous Ethics Quotes
A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world. Albert Camus
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. Elie Wiesel
No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. Oscar Wilde
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire
The main object of conciliation lies in reaching a solution to a case based upon morals and with a warm heart. Confucius
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Aristotle
Good are the Ethics, I wis; good absolute, not for me, though; Good, too, Logic, of course; in itself, but not in fine weather. Arthur Clough
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi
I think the Ethics Commission didn’t give proper consideration to the investigation previously done by the deputy city manager, which concluded that he acted within the discretion given to him as chief of police in both instances. Mark Herron
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. C.S. Lewis
If you’re guided by a spirit of transparency, it forces you to operate with a spirit of ethics. Success comes from simplifying complex issues, address problems head on, be truthful and transparent. If you open yourself up to scrutiny, it forces you to a higher standard. I believe you should deliver on your promise. Promise responsibly. Rodney Davis
If you want to test cosmetics, why do it on some poor animal who hasn’t done anything? They should use prisoners who have been convicted of murder or rape instead. So, rather than seeing if perfume irritates a bunny rabbit’s eyes, they should throw it in Charles Manson’s eyes and ask him if it hurts. Ellen DeGeneres
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right. Isaac Asimov
For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable what then? George Orwell
It is forbidden to kill; therefore, all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self. Aristotle
Ethics are more important than laws. Wynton Marsalis
Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? Charlotte Brontë
We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instils morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid. Christopher Hitchens
Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. Albert Schweitzer
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. Thomas Jefferson
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
İmaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; really good is always new, marvellous, intoxicating. Simone Weil
A quiet conscience makes one strong! Anne Frank
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Dalai Lama XIV
The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man. G. K. Chesterton
We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid. Christopher Hitchens
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Dalai Lama XIV
The word good has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man. G.K. Chesterton
Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour. If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? Charlotte Brontë
Rejection is an opportunity for your selection. Bernard Branson
Basically, to lead without a title is to derive your power within the organisation not from your position but from your competence, effectiveness, relationships, excellence, innovation and ethics. Robin S. Sharma
There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. Woody Allen
Globalization means that business strategy and business ethics cannot be separated from each other. Ofra Strauss
I’m worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they’re doing. I’m concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that’s handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers. Howard Zinn
Our very lives depend on the ethics of strangers, and most of us are always strangers to other people. Bill Moyers
People who try hard to do the right thing always seem mad. Stephen King
The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings. Albert Schweitzer
Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating. Simone Weil
Grub first, then ethics. Bertolt Brecht
Non violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. Thomas A. Edison
While academic abilities remain integral, it is the work ethics that form the soul of the business. Jamshayd Godrej
We have a choice. We have two options as human beings. We have a choice between conversation and war. That’s it. Conversation and violence. And faith is a conversation stopper. Sam Harris
Transhumanism is the ethics and science of using things like biological and genetic engineering to transform our bodies and make us a more powerful species. Dan Brown
People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times. Isaac Bashevis Singer
Our core values and business ethics will always be paramount in all that we do, and we are always looking to do the right thing and settle claims fairly and accurately. Tricia Griffith
A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury. John Stuart Mill
In the New Testament, religion is grace and ethics is gratitude. Thomas Erskine
I suppose therefore that all things I see are illusions; I believe that nothing has ever existed of everything my lying memory tells me. I think I have no senses. I believe that body, shape, extension, motion, location are functions. What is there then that can be taken as true? Perhaps only this one thing, that nothing at all is certain. Rene Descartes
A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him. Albert Schweitzer
You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity. Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man does what he must in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures and that is the basis of all human morality. John F. Kennedy
The law of evolution is that the strongest survives! Yes, and the strongest, in the existence of any social species, are those who are most social. In human terms, most ethical. There is no strength to be gained from hurting one another. Only weakness. Ursula K. Le Guin
It is curious curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare. Mark Twain
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking. H.L. Mencken
Ethics must begin at the top of an organization. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive must set the example. Edward Hennessy
I obviously do everything to be hard to understand myself. Friedrich Nietzsche
Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course. Sir George Adrian Cadbury
It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas and feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consensual validation as such has no bearing on reason or mental health. Erich Fromm
Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenceless if there isn’t the will to do what is right. Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It is taboo in our society to criticize a persons religious faith these taboos are offensive, deeply unreasonable, but worse than that, they are getting people killed. This is really my concern. My concern is that our religions, the diversity of our religious doctrines, is going to get us killed. I’m worried that our religious discourse our religious beliefs are ultimately incompatible with civilization. Sam Harris
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses. Shirley Chisholm
Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. Spencer Johnson
Create all the happiness you are able to create; remove all the misery you are able to remove. Every day will allow you, will invite you to add something to the pleasure of others, or to diminish something of their pains. Jeremy Bentham
Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life. Albert Schweitzer
Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and knows better. Mark Twain
Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself. Bertrand Russell
If there were a party of those who aren’t sure they’re right, I’d belong to it. Albert Camus
Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling. Valdemar W. Setzer
What I’m asking you to entertain is that there is nothing we need to believe on insufficient evidence in order to have deeply ethical and spiritual lives. Sam Harris
In law, a man is guilty when he violates the rights of another. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so. Immanuel Kant
Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind’s capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don’t; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us. Matthew Scully
Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenceless if there isn’t the will to do what is right. Alexander Solzhenitsyn
While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth? George Bernard Shaw
Ethical decisions ensure that everyone’s best interests are protected. When in doubt, don’t. Harvey Mackay
It is a self deception of philosophers and moralists to imagine that they escape decadence by opposing it. That is beyond their will; and, however little they acknowledge it, one later discovers that they were among the most powerful promoters of decadence. Friedrich Nietzsche
To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one’s own, is ever the beginning of one’s real ethical development. Felix Adler
Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Omar N. Bradley
A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives. Albert Schweitzer
True education does not consist merely in the acquiring of a few facts of science, history, literature, or art, but in the development of character. David O. McKay
Ethics is about how we meet the challenge of doing the right thing, when that will cost more than we want to pay. The Josephson
Acting responsibly is not a matter of strengthening our reason but of deepening our feelings for the welfare of others. Jostein Gaarder
Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it. George Eliot
What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance. Epictetus
To starve to death is a small thing, but to lose one’s integrity is a great one. Chinese Proverb
You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at various prices. This is why, when Florus was deliberating whether he should appear at Nero’s shows, taking part in the performance himself, Agrippinus replied, Appear by all means. And when Florus inquired, But why do not you appear? he answered, Because I do not even consider the question. For the man who has once stooped to consider such questions, and to reckon up the value of external things, is not far from forgetting what manner of man he is. Epictetus
The greatest tragedy in mankind’s entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion. Arthur C. Clarke
What one generation finds ridiculous, the next accepts; and the third shudders when it looks back on what the first did. Peter Singer
I have my ethics and morals. I have my anchor point of what is right and wrong in real life, but I’m not afraid to entertain any and every aspect of personality in relationship to creating a character. Corin Nemec
Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything. Fulton J. Sheen
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Aristotle
I have something that I call my Golden Rule. It goes something like this Do unto others twenty five percent better than you expect them to do unto you. The twenty five percent is for error. Linus Pauling
Ethics or simple honesty is the building blocks upon which our whole society is based, and business is a part of our society, and it’s integral to the practice of being able to conduct business, that you have a set of honest standards. Kerry Stokes
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place. Mahatma Gandhi
Morality is the herd instinct in the individual. Friedrich Nietzsche
A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. Albert Einstein
Every man, in his own opinion, forms an exception to the ordinary rules of morality. William Hazlitt
Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. Adam Smith
Every aspect of Western culture needs a new code of ethics a rational ethics as a precondition of rebirth. Ayn Ran
A freedom which is interested only in denying freedom must be denied. And it is not true that the recognition of the freedom of others limits my own freedom to be free is not to have the power to do anything you like; it is to be able to surpass the given toward an open future; the existence of others as a freedom defines my situation and is even the condition of my own freedom. I am oppressed if I am thrown into prison, but not if I am kept from throwing my neighbor into prison. Simone de Beauvoir
Before I can live with other folks, I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. Harper Lee
Were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do. Michael Pollan
