“All attempts at law, all religion, all ethical norms might be nothing more than attempts by the weak to restrain the strong. Then, within the law, arise the new strong, who subvert the law for their own ends of power and family interest, leaving the old strong outside their circle to pursue the waiting possibilities which they call crime. The weak, the cowardly, the decent ones, live between these groups.” EndsMightLawStrongWaitingInterestGroupsCrimePossibilityWeakLeavingCirclesArisePursueDecentEthicalNormCowardly Book:Brute Orbits Source: Brute Orbits
“It cannot be denied that Islam, regarded as an ethical ideal plus a certain kind of polity - by which expression I mean a social structure regulated by a legal system and animated by a specific ethical ideal - has been the chief formative factor in the life-history of the Muslims of India. It has furnished those basic emotions and loyalties which gradually unify scattered individuals and groups, and finally transform them into a well-defined people, possessing a moral consciousness of their own.” PeopleWellsKindMeanHas BeensCertainIndividualSocialEmotionConsciousnessMoralGroupsExpressionIdealsIndiaStructureIslamLoyaltyFactorsDefinedChiefsPlusEthicalDeniedAnimatedPossessingLegal SystemSocial Structure Book:Speeches, Writings, and Statements of Iqbal Source: Speeches, Writings, and Statements of Iqbal
“The ethical regime [of the Jews] was quite definitely Ptolemaic, revolving around the small group of Jews, not the larger Gentile group and, accordingly, they learned to remain unimpressed by Gentile temporal power. Being unimpressed did not mean being unafraid material power might beat or starve one to death; it did mean refusing to surrender moral hegemony to the majority merely because it had power.” MeanMightMoralGroupsMaterialsBeatsMajorityJewSurrenderEthicalRegimesSmall GroupsUnafraidHegemonyGentilesRevolving Author:David Riesman
“Historically, religious groups have been most effective when they have stood apart from government and critiqued the performance of government in light of their ethical traditions. When churches become cozy with the state, they lose the capacity and the will to criticize unjust policies.” Has BeensStatesLightGovernmentLosesChurchReligiousGroupsPolicyCapacityTraditionPerformancesCriticizeEthicalUnjustCozy Author:Edd Doerr
“No science of any kind can be divorced from ethical considerations... Science is a human learning process which arises in certain subcultures in human society and not in others, and a subculture as we seen is a group of people defined by acceptance of certain common values, that is, an ethic which permits extensive communication between them.” PeopleHumansKindCertainValuesProcessCommonGroupsAcceptanceCommunicationEthicsAriseDefinedConsiderationEthicalPermitDivorcedLearning ProcessHuman SocietySubculture Author:Kenneth E. Boulding
“If humanity today succeeds in combining the new scientific capacities with a strong ethical dimension, it will certainly be able to promote the environment as a home and a resource for...all...and will be able to eliminate the causes of pollution and to guarantee adequate conditions of hygiene and health for small groups as well as for vast human settlements.” IfsHumansWellsHomeTodayAbleHumanityStrongCausesEnvironmentGroupsConditionsSucceedResourcesCapacityEnvironmentalDimensionsGuaranteesEthicalSustainabilityPollutionAdequateSettlementSmall GroupsCombiningHygiene Author:Pope John Paul II
“[There is] an increasing tendency among modern men to imagine themselves ethical because they have delegated their vices to larger and larger groups.” MenImagineGroupsModernVicesTendenciesEthicalModern Man Author:Reinhold Niebuhr
“No man may initiate the use of physical force against others. No man-or group or society or government-has the right to assume the role of a criminal and initiate the use of physical compulsion against any man. Men have the right to use physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. The ethical principle involved is simple and clear-cut: it is the difference between murder and self-defense.” MenMaySelfUseGovernmentForceDifferencesSimplePrinciplesRolesClearCuttingGroupsInvolvedMurderAssumingDefenseCriminalsEthicalCompulsionSelf DefenseInitiateRetaliationPhysical ForceEthical Principles Author:Ayn Rand