--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as duty. If you…" description: "\"There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it - it isn't right. If it's right and yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/ayn-rand-59_duty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-duty-if-you-kn_892746.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing… ![“There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it - it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it - you don't know what right is and you're not a man.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/ayn-rand-59_duty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-duty-if-you-kn_892746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/ayn-rand-59_duty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-duty-if-you-kn_892746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/601/ayn-rand-59_duty_there-is-no-such-thing-as-duty-if-you-kn_892746.jpg) > “There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it - it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it - you don't know what right is and you're not a man.” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral duty aligns with personal desire; true rightness feels compelling, otherwise it is not genuine. **In simple terms:** Right actions feel like personal desire; Key Takeaway Follow what feels right, not imposed duty. Themes ethics individualism responsibility Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decisions - leadership choices - ethical dilemmas - volunteer work Key Concepts Objectivism volition integrity Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever feel compelled to act against your desire? - How do you differentiate genuine desire from selfishness? A Different Perspective If desire conflicts with societal expectations, the notion of right may be contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [There is generally no such thing as duty to the people who do it. They simply take life as it comes, meeting, not, shirking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/there-is-generally-no-such-thing-as-duty-to-the-people-who-do-it-they/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Once you create this thing between duty and reading, it's over. Reading's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/once-you-create-this-thing-between-duty-and-reading-it-s-over-reading/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Love is the only duty that we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/love-is-the-only-duty-that-we-know/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [No matter where you go, always do your duty as you see it and know that I will be there inside you guiding you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sathya-sai-baba/no-matter-where-you-go-always-do-your-duty-as-you-see-it-and-know/) [Sri Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sathya-sai-baba/) > [“Christian holy duty is to know the Lord Jesus Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/christian-holy-duty-is-to-know-the-lord-jesus-christ/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/when-we-want-to-sink-a-convoy-we-send-out-an-observation-plane-first/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [“How can I do my duty if I do not know where it lies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/how-can-i-do-my-duty-if-i-do-not-know-where-it-lies/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/not-only-do-we-have-a-right-to-know-we-have-a-duty-to-know-what-our-2/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [The person who is working on his or her family history fits the description of one who is fulfilling his or her duty. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-person-who-is-working-on-his-or-her-family-history-fits-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/not-only-do-we-have-a-right-to-know-we-have-a-duty-to-know-what-our/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [“Our religion (the Self’s duty) is to ‘know’ the one who carries out the worldly actions. Doing those activities is not in our hands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/our-religion-the-self-s-duty-is-to-know-the-one-who-carries-out-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The best security for people's doing their duty is that they should not know anything else to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-best-security-for-people-s-doing-their-duty-is-that-they-should/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [“They always seemed to know everything, but now there is only me, and it seems I know nothing, not even my duty. How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/they-always-seemed-to-know-everything-but-now-there-is-only-me-and-it/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [What's right isn't always popular. What's popular isn't always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-s-right-isn-t-always-popular-what-s-popular-isn-t-always-right/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I shook my head. “I don’t think so. This isn’t a good idea. This isn’t right.” “There’s all kinds of right,” he murmured. “On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-shook-my-head-i-don-t-think-so-this-isn-t-a-good-idea-this-isn-t/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/our-duty-as-christians-is-always-to-keep-heaven-in-our-eye-and-earth/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/regardless-of-how-you-feel-about-war-and-peace-those-serving-military/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) > [“Duty is a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/duty-is-a-done-deal/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-do-not-so-much-rejoice-that-god-hath-made-me-to-be-a-queen-as-to-be/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Browse all 5,178 Duty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. 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