Capacity Quote by Ayn Rand
“You have no choice about your capacity to feel that something is good for you or evil, but what you will consider good or evil, what will give you joy or pain, what you will love or hate, desire or fear, depends on your standard of value.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, 1957
Our judgments of good and evil are shaped by personal values, not by any objective capacity to feel.
In simple terms: Values determine what we see as good or bad.
Key Takeaway
Examine and refine your values.
Themes
philosophy
ethics
subjectivity
Mood
thoughtful
introspective
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- personal decision making
- leadership
- conflict resolution
- self‑assessment
- relationship building
Key Concepts
Value theory
moral relativism
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What values guide your judgments?
- How can you test their fairness?
A Different Perspective
Values can be biased or socially conditioned, limiting objectivity.
![“I know some say, let us have good laws, and no matter for the men that execute them: but let them consider, that though good laws do well, good men do better: for good laws may want good men, and be abolished or evaded [invaded in Franklin's print] by ill men; but good men will never want good…” quote by Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/373/patrick-henry-3071_franklin_i-know-some-say-let-us-have-good-laws-an_839553.jpg)
