- "Do to others what you would have them do to you."
- anonymous, often called The
Golden Rule, in one form or another it
is common to most major religions.
This – and the question, "What if everybody behaved that way?" –
could practically be called the basis of all
ethics.
- "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
- William Butler Yeats, 1865 to 1939
- "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
- George Bernard Shaw, 1856 to 1950
I remember once being advised to not worry about that which I cannot change;
it seemed good advice at the time.
But one must be very sure that one cannot change it;
if something needs to be changed and is not being changed, then why should
anyone else change it if I am unwilling to try?
- "Every nation has the government
that it deserves."
- Joseph de Maistre [Letter on the subject of Russia, Aug. 1811]
Very applicable in the modern world where apathetic and short-sighted
voters have allowed democracies to become plutocracies.
- "I am a citizen, not of Athens or Greece, but of the World."
- Socrates [Plutarch, De Exilio, v]
A remarkably applicable, even essential, attitude for the modern world.
What Socrates could see in c. 300BC the G.W. Bush administration of the
USA and the Howard Government of Australia were incapable of seeing in the
early 21st century
- "Magna est veritas et praevalebit": Truth is great and shall prevail.
- Book of Edras (Ezra), Latin Vulgate Bible
(Unfortunately, in regard to climate change, by the time the truth prevails
it will be too late for thousands or millions of species and billions of
people.)
- "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead, American Anthropologist (1901 – 1978)
- "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
- Groucho Marx
- "If you think you are too small to make a difference, you've never been
in a room with a mosquito."
- Annita Roddick (of The Body Shop), from "Business as Unusual"
Consider this before you say that your country (or the world) is a mess but
you cannot do anything about it.
- "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness"
- Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International (hence AI's
emblem)
- "Good people will do good things, and bad people will do bad things.
But for good people to do bad things – that takes religion."
- Steven Weinberg, Nobel laureate
- "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit
atrocities."
- Voltaire, French author, humanist, rationalist, and satirist
(1694 - 1778)
- "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it."
- A summation of Voltair's beliefs on freedom of thought and expression,
actually written by Evelyn Beatric Hall
- "We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading
reality."
- Ayn Rand
Very pertinent in an age in which we can see what must be done (eg.
in regard to climate change) but are not doing it.
- "The day may come, when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those
rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of
tyranny.
The French have already discovered that the blackness of skin is no reason
why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a
tormentor.
It may come one day to be recognized, that the number of legs, the villosity
of the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum, are reasons equally
insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the same fate.
What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of
reason, or perhaps, the faculty for discourse?...the question is not, Can
they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Why should the law
refuse its protection to any sensitive being?..."
- Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832
On discussing whether animals should have rights as people have rights.
- "In reality (and especially in the case of the United States) one could
say that never have so many stayed in school so long to learn so little."
- From Social Sciences as Sorcery by Stanislav Andreski, 1972
The people of the
USA are perhaps the most educated (as distinct
from the best educated) in the world.
A great many believe a huge amount
of religious crap!
- "The lesson of history is that you must not despair, that if you
are right, and you persist, things will change.
The government will try to deceive the people, and the newspapers and
television may do the same, but the truth has a way of coming out.
The truth has a power greater than a hundred lies.
My hope is that you will not be content to be successful in the way our
society measures success; that you will not obey the rules, when the rules
are unjust; that you will act out the courage that I know is in you."
- Howard Zinn – Address to Spelman College, 2005
- "Not to know is bad; not to wish to know is worse."
- African proverb
- "The essence of science is skepticism. The essence of religion is faith."
"Science is not a set of beliefs, it is a method."
- Unknown
- "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men
to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke
The alternative is to leave running the world to politicians and the various
business lobbies.
The executives in charge of multinational
companies that employ many of the lobbyists have enormous power and very
little morality.
- "The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no
good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holder's lack
of rational conviction."
- Bertrand Russell (1872 to 1970), from Let the People Think,
1941
Again, religion comes to mind.
- "It seems to me that science has a much greater likelihood of being
true in the main than any philosophy hitherto advanced (I do not, of course,
except my own).
In science there are many matters about which people are agreed;
in philosophy there are none.
Therefore, although each proposition in science may be false, yet we shall
be wise to build our philosophy upon science, because the risk of error
in philosophy is sure to be greater than in science.
If we could hope for certainty in philosophy the matter would be otherwise,
but so far as I can see such a hope would be chimerical."
- Bertrand Russell, Logical Atomism
Russell was probably the pre-eminant philosopher of the Twentieth Century.
I don't think this should be thought of as diminishing the importance of
philosophy; if we are to truly understand science we must understand
some philosophy, and how could we make any sense of life without philosophy?
- "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the
intelligent are full of doubt."
- Bertrand Russell
Need I mention religion again?
- "It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground
whatever for supposing it true."
- Bertrand Russell
The claim that wind turbines make people
sick is one such; religion is, of course, another.
- "If a thousand people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
- Chinese proverb
Very apposite to religion.
A billion
Christians
believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that all the
Muslims
are wrong; a billion Muslims believe that all the Christians are
wrong and Mohammed had all the answers.
They all believe a foolish thing.
- "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way
its animals are treated."
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
- "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind"
- Mohandas Gandhi
Bombing a nation in return for a terrorist attack is only going to achieve
more hatred.
- "But I have not met anyone who seriously argues that the world could
support 12 times the current [human] impact, although an increase of that
factor would result from all [current] Third World inhabitants adopting
First World living standards."
"In the long run, rich people do not secure their own interests and those
of their children if they rule over a collapsing society and merely buy
themselves the privilege of being the last to starve or die."
- From Collapse by Jared Diamond, 2005
- "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because
he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."
- From Walden by Henry David Thoreau, 1854
- "I believe that the proper utilization of time is this, if you can,
serve other people, other sentient beings. If not, at least refrain from
harming them. I think that is the whole basis of my philosophy."
- The Dalai Lama, From "The Art of Happines: A Handbook for Living"
I would go further and say that we should try to serve the biosphere;
that is, work for the welfare of all life on earth.
- "The only part of the conduct of any one, for which [a citizen] is
amenable to society, is that which concerns others.
In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right,
absolute.
Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign."
- John Stuart Mill, in On Liberty
Pertinent to the right to voluntary euthanasia
- "The condition upon which God hath given liberty
to man is eternal vigilance."
- John Philpot Curran, Lord Mayor of Dublin
The reference to God is a bit archaic, but the concept is very true.
- "One has to realize that the powerful industrial groups concerned in the
manufacture of arms are doing their best in all countries to prevent the
peaceful settlement of international disputes ..."
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
"The only two things that are infinite in size are the universe, and human
stupidity. And I'm not completely sure about the universe."
- Albert Einstein, 1879 to 1955
- "Causes shall not be multiplied beyond necessity."
- William of Occam (alternatively spelled Ockham), 1285 to about
1343
Ockham's Razor:
Why hypothesize a god when the hypothesis answers no questions?
- "What is morally wrong cannot be economically right."
- Gordon Brown (PM of Britain), 8th December 2004.
The Pope Paul VI memorial lecture, CAFOD, London.
Why can so few
politicians see this?
- "When you are trying to change people's ethical views, you accomplish
nothing by clashing your views against theirs – all you get is a
counterthrust.
It is far better to show that the conclusion you wish them to draw is
implicit in what they already believe, albeit unnoticed."
- Bernard E Rollin; Science and Ethics
- "A busy woman is a happy woman"
- Zac Sibenaler; not entirely seriously
- "Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs
of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."
- Cæsar in Cæsar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw,
1898
Religion leads us to such barbaric ideas.
- "There are perhaps 5% of the population that simply can't think.
There are another 5% who can think, and do.
The remaining 90% can think, but don't.
- Robert Heinlein, 1907 to 1988
- "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
- Epicurus
- "I aimed to make the Earth a better place – and failed miserably"
- Professor Harry Messell
(However, the world might have been a better place for his having lived.)
- "Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of
the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to
drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship,
or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the
people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.
All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce
the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to
greater danger."
- Herman Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall and commander of the Luftwaffe,
at the Nuremberg trials.
Pertinent to the way President George W. Bush and Prime Minister
John Howard treated their respective peoples just before the second
Iraq War.
- "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.
"They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of
turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that
a plague struck the Lord's people.
Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man."
- Moses instructing the captains of Israel in the
Bible, Numbers,
Chapter 31, verses 15 to 18; and yet many people
claim that we can learn ethics from the Bible!
Some of the above were from
Pithy Sayings.
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