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Quote by Simone Weil

“When war is waged, it is for the purpose of safeguarding or increasing one's capacity to make war. International politics are wholly involved in this vicious cycle. What is called national prestige consists in behaving always in such a way as to demoralize other nations by giving them the impression that, if it comes to war, one would certainly defeat them. What is called national security is an imaginary state of affairs in which one would retain the capacity to make war while depriving all other countries of it.”

Quote by Simone Weil

Author

Simone Weil was a French philosopher, social activist, and writer. Born on February 3, 1909, and died on August 24, 1943, Weil is known for her profound philosophical thinking and her passionate commitment to social justice. Her works have had a significant impact on later philosophers and social thinkers. more

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Book:The Gulag Archipelago Volume 2: An Experiment in Literary Investigation

Source: The Gulag Archipelago Volume 2: An Experiment in Literary Investigation

“Man is appealed to be guided in his acts, not merely by love, which is always personal, or at best tribal, but by his perception of his oneness with each human being. In the practice of mutual aid, which we can re-trace to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the ethical progress of man, mutual support- not mutual struggle- has had the leading part.”

Men Humans Human Beings Practice Support Struggle Progress Evolution Perception Ethics Aids Oneness Mutual Ethical Conception Mutual Aid Mutual Support

Book:Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

Source: Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

“Personally I do not resort to force - not even the force of law - to advance moral reforms. I prefer education, argument, persuasion, and above all the influence of example - of fashion.”

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Author:Rutherford B. Hayes

“Those who keep the masses of men in subjection by exercising force and cruelty deprive them at once of two vital foods, liberty and obedience; for it is no longer within the power of such masses to accord their inner consent to the authority to which they are subjected. Those who encourage a state of things in which the hope of gain is the principle motive take away from men their obedience, for consent which is its essence is not something which can be sold.”

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Author:Simone Weil

“Our brains are separate and independent enough from our genes to rebel against them.. we do so in a small way everytime we use contraception. There is no reason why we should not rebel in a large way too.”

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Book:The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary edition

Source: The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary edition

“The death of dogma is the birth of morality.”

Growth Atheism Acceptance Birth Morality Ethics Positive Atheism Dogma

Author:Immanuel Kant

“A bifurcation of loyalties that requires religious to put canon law above civil law and moral law puts us in a situation where the keepers of religion may themselves become one of the greatest dangers to the credibility - and the morality - of the church itself.”

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Author:Joan D. Chittister

“Why does everyone take for granted that we don't learn to grow arms, but rather, are designed to grow arms? Similarly, we should conclude that in the case of the development of moral systems; there's a biological endowment which in effect requires us to develop a system of moral judgment and a theory of justice, if you like, that in fact has detailed applicability over an enormous range.”

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Author:Noam Chomsky

“Of all the differences between man and the lower animals, the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important. This sense, as Mackintosh remarks, "has a rightful supremacy over every other principle of human action"; it is summed up in that short but imperious word "ought," so full of high significance. It is the most noble of all the attributes of man, leading him without a moment's hesitation to risk his life for that of a fellow-creature; or after due deliberation, impelled simply by the deep feeling of right or duty, to sacrifice it in some great cause.”

“I fully subscribe to the judgement of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animal, the moral sense of conscience is by far the most important....It is the most noble of all the attributes of man.”

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Author:Charles Darwin