Q0533
“There is no criterion for determining what is good for a human…” — Philippa Foot (Natural Goodness (2001), Ch. 1)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Natural Goodness (2001), Ch. 1. Theme: human nature.
English
There is no criterion for determining what is good for a human being that is independent of the nature of the human being.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Natural Goodness (2001), Ch. 1 and files it under Analytic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Philippa Foot
Philippa Foot (1920–2010) was a leading Oxford moral philosopher who helped restore virtue ethics within analytic philosophy. Across essays collected in Virtues and Vices and the late book Natural Goodness, she linked moral evaluation to the needs and life-form of human beings rather than to free-floating emotivist attitudes.
How to read this passage
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Aristotle and Blaise Pascal), human nature is framed through Peripatetic School and Christian Existential Precursor. Some passages define human nature; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through human nature, good, nature.
Concepts in this quote
- Human Nature
- Human Nature appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat human nature as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Good
- Good appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat good as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Nature
- Philosophy quotes about nature ask what the cosmos is, how humans belong in it, and whether “natural” can guide ethics or politics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Philippa Foot. (n.d.). There is no criterion for determining what is good for a human being that is independent of the nature of the human being. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0533
MLA: Philippa Foot. “There is no criterion for determining what is….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0533.
Chicago: Philippa Foot. “There is no criterion for determining what is….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0533.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “There is no criterion for determining what is…”?
The passage is attributed to Philippa Foot, Natural Goodness (2001), Ch. 1. The archive attributes this English wording to Natural Goodness (2001), Ch. 1 and files it under Analytic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Philippa Foot mean by human nature?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Aristotle and Blaise Pascal), human nature is framed through Peripatetic School and Christian Existential Precursor. Some passages define human nature; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through human nature, good, nature.