--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Caring, whether for children or the…" description: "\"Caring, whether for children or the dying, shouldn't be instrumental. It should be an intrinsic, moral good.\" — Alison Gopnik" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/alison-gopnik-4163_caring_caring-whether-for-children-or-the-dying_1400844.png" --- # Caring, whether for children or the dying, shouldn't be… ![“Caring, whether for children or the dying, shouldn't be instrumental. It should be an intrinsic, moral good.” quote by Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/alison-gopnik-4163_caring_caring-whether-for-children-or-the-dying_1400844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/alison-gopnik-4163_caring_caring-whether-for-children-or-the-dying_1400844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/alison-gopnik-4163_caring_caring-whether-for-children-or-the-dying_1400844.png) > “Caring, whether for children or the dying, shouldn't be instrumental. It should be an intrinsic, moral good.” [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Caring for others should be an end in itself, not a means to another goal. **In simple terms:** Care should be intrinsic, not instrumental. Key Takeaway Practice caring without expecting rewards. Themes ethics compassion intrinsic value Mood thoughtful empathetic Type ethical reflective When to use this quote - parenting - elder care - volunteering - friendship Key Concepts moral philosophy humanism Questions to Reflect On - When does caring become self‑sacrifice? - How can you balance self‑care with caring for others? A Different Perspective Sometimes caring can be burdensome or unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) ## Related quotes > [Caring for children has always been one of the deepest and most satisfying things that a human being does, and yet it is hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/caring-for-children-has-always-been-one-of-the-deepest-and-most/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [You do change when you have the responsibility of caring for children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asher-keddie/you-do-change-when-you-have-the-responsibility-of-caring-for-children/) [Asher Keddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asher-keddie/) > [Working from home while caring for children seems impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/working-from-home-while-caring-for-children-seems-impossible/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [The real question isn't whether you love your kids or not, but how well you are able to demonstrate your love and caring so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-martson/the-real-question-isn-t-whether-you-love-your-kids-or-not-but-how/) Stephanie Martson > [When you are caring about your children perhaps you always have to remember at what point you can become over involved because of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shorter/when-you-are-caring-about-your-children-perhaps-you-always-have-to/) [Frank Shorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shorter/) > [There is no evidence that suggests women are naturally better at caring for children... with the fact of child-bearing out of the centre of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/there-is-no-evidence-that-suggests-women-are-naturally-better-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Caring for children is a dance between setting appropriate limits as caretakers and avoiding unnecessary power struggles that result in unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/caring-for-children-is-a-dance-between-setting-appropriate-limits-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Angelina and Brad have shown me that caring for children is the greatest gift in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/angelina-and-brad-have-shown-me-that-caring-for-children-is-the/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [A state, a community, caring first for all its children, providing amply for their spiritual as for their temporal well-being, has organized the primitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/a-state-a-community-caring-first-for-all-its-children-providing-amply/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [This is our first task-caring for our children. 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Having the responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/historically-girls-have-not-been-encouraged-to-be-scientists-to-be/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [“To a child, whatever is being done by adults is good and worth imitating. Many children have embraced societal vices as they emulated adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-nzuki/to-a-child-whatever-is-being-done-by-adults-is-good-and-worth/) [Benjamin Nzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-nzuki/) > [Caring for our children and making sure they do not get addicted to drugs is all of our responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/caring-for-our-children-and-making-sure-they-do-not-get-addicted-to/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [Loving parents have caring children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/loving-parents-have-caring-children/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Alison Gopnik > [Philosophers and psychologists have long puzzled over the question of how we know as much as we do despite our limited experiences. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/philosophers-and-psychologists-have-long-puzzled-over-the-question-of/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Adults often assume that most learning is the result of teaching and that exploratory, spontaneous learning is unusual. But actually, spontaneous learning is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/adults-often-assume-that-most-learning-is-the-result-of-teaching-and/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Adults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/adults-tend-to-think-they-have-much-free-will-kids-younger-than-six/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [From an evolutionary perspective children are, literally, designed to learn. Childhood is a special period of protected immaturity. It gives the young breathing time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/from-an-evolutionary-perspective-children-are-literally-designed-to/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [We don't wife our husbands and we don't child our parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/we-don-t-wife-our-husbands-and-we-don-t-child-our-parents/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [There is a tension between our desire to get our kids to turn out a particular way versus letting them develop to be their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/there-is-a-tension-between-our-desire-to-get-our-kids-to-turn-out-a/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“Instead, it may be that experience itself has changed our brains so that we perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/instead-it-may-be-that-experience-itself-has-changed-our-brains-so/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Caring for children has always been one of the deepest and most satisfying things that a human being does, and yet it is hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/caring-for-children-has-always-been-one-of-the-deepest-and-most/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Imaginary friends are one of the weirder forms of pretend play in childhood. But the research shows that imaginary friends actually help children understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/imaginary-friends-are-one-of-the-weirder-forms-of-pretend-play-in/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“Like their parents, the Korean children used more verbs than the English-speaking kids, while the English-speaking kids used more nouns. But in addition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/like-their-parents-the-korean-children-used-more-verbs-than-the/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“We decided to become development psychologists and study children because there aren't any Martians. These brilliant beings with the little bodies and big heads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/we-decided-to-become-development-psychologists-and-study-children/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Each new generation of children grows up in the new environment its parents have created, and each generation of brains becomes wired in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/each-new-generation-of-children-grows-up-in-the-new-environment-its/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [I'm the oldest of six children and I had my own first baby when I was 23. So I've always been interested in babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/i-m-the-oldest-of-six-children-and-i-had-my-own-first-baby-when-i-was/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [“‎Literature is the equivalent of the climate scientist’s computer simulations: set up some new starting conditions, run the whole complicated process and see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/literature-is-the-equivalent-of-the-climate-scientist-s-computer/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [The brain knows the real secret of seduction, more effective than even music and martinis. Just keep whispering, 'Gee, you are really special' to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/the-brain-knows-the-real-secret-of-seduction-more-effective-than-even/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) [Explore all 115 Alison Gopnik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) ## More Caring quotes > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [There is nothing about myself that I wouldn't reveal or write about. I don't care how horrendous or ridiculous I may appear in person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/there-is-nothing-about-myself-that-i-wouldn-t-reveal-or-write-about-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [A happy family needs a loving and caring father, and he who knows how to be a mother sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-happy-family-needs-a-loving-and-caring-father-and-he-who-knows-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Just remember that when nobody was there for you, I was. And when nobody else gave a damn, I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-remember-that-when-nobody-was-there-for-you-i-was-and-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Hmmm! life zz about caring the life that u have as the rest of the things are of secondary value tc n ks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-life-zz-about-caring-the-life-that-u-have-as-the-rest-of-the/) [Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/) > [You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved ,the rest is up to the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-make-someone-love-you-all-you-can-do-is-be-someone-who-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“As you travel along the roads in life, there is a certain kind of peace that comes with knowing you're on the right path.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-nkosazana/as-you-travel-along-the-roads-in-life-there-is-a-certain-kind-of/) [Amaka Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-nkosazana/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Browse all 2,651 Caring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Caring, whether for children or the dying, shouldn't be instrumental. 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