Ethics quotes

Aristotle on how we attain virtues

‘none of the moral virtues arises in us by nature’

of all the things that come to us by nature we first acquire the potentiality and later exhibit the activity

it is from the same causes and by the same means that every virtue is both produced and destroyed

Peter Singer on

It’s really important to give to the most effective charities,”,” Singer contends, “because they can be not just 10 times but hundreds of times more impactful in what they do.”

“I think in general, a lot more good has been done by earning-to-give than harm’

Singer on futuristic altrusim

“I don’t think we know enough about the future,” he says, “and what will be helpful to it, and we should not risk important present and near-future goals for its sake.

‘You need to have some reasonably plausible way in which you can make a difference.”- He sees no incompatibility between effective altruism and campaigns for wider social change – so long as the latter can be shown to deliver real outcomes.

Kant on the categorical imperative

‘Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

Mill on pig

"it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied" -Higher pleasures are more valuable and contribute more significantly to human flourishing than lower pleasures.

Mill on those people or pigs who prefer lower pleasures

‘If the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.

Mill on only competent judges

What is there to decide whether a particular pleasure is worth purchasing at the cost of a particular pain, except the feelings and judgment of the experienced?