Theme

Philosophy quotes about ethics

Ethics appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat ethics as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

Why this theme matters

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Kwame Anthony Appiah and Simone de Beauvoir), ethics is framed through Africana Philosophy and Existentialism. Some passages define ethics; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language.

In the history of philosophy

Discussions of ethics travel through Chinese, Africana and European modern traditions. Compare the quotations below with their school labels rather than forcing a single definition.

Thinkers in this collection

Simone de Beauvoir , Confucius , Mozi , Jeremy Bentham , Elizabeth Anscombe , Maimonides , Kwame Anthony Appiah , Mogobe B. Ramose

Frequently asked questions

What did philosophers say about ethics?

They disagreed in productive ways. In this archive, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Simone de Beauvoir, and related voices treat ethics as something to clarify, cultivate, or critique—not merely to celebrate.

Where can I find philosophy quotes about ethics?

This theme page gathers 18 verified English quotations tagged Ethics, with links to thinkers and sources.

How should I read quotes about ethics?

Read the sentence, then check school and source. A compact line is an entry point into an argument about ethics, not a substitute for the surrounding text.

  1. To will oneself free is also to will others free.
  2. The Master said: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
  3. Care for one another impartially, and benefit one another mutually.
  4. It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.
  5. The freedom of others… conditions my freedom.
  6. If all under Heaven love one another universally, there is order; if they hate one another mutually, there is disorder.
  7. The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength.
  8. The greater part of modern moral philosophy derives from Sidgwick and is utilitarian or consequentialist.
  9. The Law as a whole aims at two things: the welfare of the soul and the welfare of the body.
  10. The virtues are means between two extremes; the good character is the mean disposition.
  11. Conversation doesn't have to lead to consensus about anything, especially not values; it's enough that it helps people get used to one another.
  12. The version of cosmopolitanism that I favor is exactly about balancing universality and difference.
  13. Relativism of that sort isn't a way to encourage conversation; it's just a reason to fall silent.
  14. A value is like a fax machine: it's not much use if you're the only one who has one.
  15. We have obligations to others that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by ties of kith and kind; and we must take seriously the value not just of human life but of particular human lives.
  16. Ubuntu is the principle that we act humanely and with respect towards others as a way of demanding the same from them.
  17. To be a human being is to affirm one's humanity by recognising the humanity of others and, on that basis, establish humane relations with them.
  18. The locus of ethical problems lies not in the consciousness of the isolated individual, but precisely in the in-betweenness of person and person.
  19. To kill one man is called unrighteousness and incurs one capital crime; by this reckoning, to kill ten men is ten times unrighteous and incurs ten capital crimes.