--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Humanity' is a name not merely for a…" description: "\"'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.\" — Bernard Williams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png" --- # 'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for… ![“'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.” quote by Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png) > “'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.” [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humanity refers both to the human species and to the moral quality of compassion and kindness. **In simple terms:** Humanity means people and the quality of being kind. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion as part of being human. Themes ethics philosophy compassion Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - community service - conflict resolution - education - personal growth Key Concepts moral quality species identity Questions to Reflect On - What does compassion mean to you? - Can humanity exist without moral quality? A Different Perspective Humanity can be misused to justify harmful actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-merely-668239/) [Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely/) [Merely Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-species-668241/) [Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/name/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-quality-668240/) ## Related quotes > [Greed is merely a species of nearsightedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/greed-is-merely-a-species-of-nearsightedness/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [It is almost as hard for us to sense our own species quality as it is to sense our species smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-crisler/it-is-almost-as-hard-for-us-to-sense-our-own-species-quality-as-it-is/) [Lois Crisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-crisler/) > [But I have tried to go over it very carefully, not merely what the evidence is, but with psychoanalysts and psychologists, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-donald/but-i-have-tried-to-go-over-it-very-carefully-not-merely-what-the/) [David Herbert Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-donald/) > [It is not enough merely to win; others must lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-not-enough-merely-to-win-others-must-lose/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Agrarian reform should not merely subdivide misery, it must raise living standards. Ownership raises the farmer from his, but productivity will keep him on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/agrarian-reform-should-not-merely-subdivide-misery-it-must-raise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/for-children-diversity-needs-to-be-real-and-not-merely-relegated-to/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [Would you rather have butter or guns? Preparedness makes us powerful. Butter merely makes us fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goering/would-you-rather-have-butter-or-guns-preparedness-makes-us-powerful/) [Hermann Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goering/) > [Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/every-man-must-have-the-right-fearlessly-to-think-independently-and/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [The whole of a human being is merely a vertebra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenz-oken/the-whole-of-a-human-being-is-merely-a-vertebra/) [Lorenz Oken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenz-oken/) > [Most men, when they think they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knute-rockne/most-men-when-they-think-they-are-thinking-are-merely-rearranging/) [Knute Rockne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knute-rockne/) > [Love is merely a madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-merely-a-madness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you are in love with someone, a kiss is merely a way of expressing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cassandra/if-you-are-in-love-with-someone-a-kiss-is-merely-a-way-of-expressing/) [Regina Cassandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-cassandra/) > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) ## More by Bernard Williams > [People have been predicting the death of philosophy since the 17th century. When I was a student, people were saying, 'We're in the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/people-have-been-predicting-the-death-of-philosophy-since-the-17th/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [A friend is a lot of things, but a critic isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/a-friend-is-a-lot-of-things-but-a-critic-isn-t/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [This is the end of the day, but soon there will be a new day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/this-is-the-end-of-the-day-but-soon-there-will-be-a-new-day/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [Tranquility is like quicksilver. The harder you grab for it, the less likely you will grasp it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/tranquility-is-like-quicksilver-the-harder-you-grab-for-it-the-less/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [If there's one theme in all my work, it's about authenticity and self-expression. It's the idea that some things are, in some real sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/if-there-s-one-theme-in-all-my-work-it-s-about-authenticity-and-self/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [“That an action would be cowardly is not often found by an agent to be a consideration in its favor, but it could be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/that-an-action-would-be-cowardly-is-not-often-found-by-an-agent-to-be/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [We must escape our illusions of correctness to understand the actions and beliefs of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/we-must-escape-our-illusions-of-correctness-to-understand-the-actions/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [You are mature when you know what is foolhardy and what is courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/you-are-mature-when-you-know-what-is-foolhardy-and-what-is-courage/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [The majority of philosophers are totally humorless. That's part of their trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/the-majority-of-philosophers-are-totally-humorless-that-s-part-of/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [Few things move as quietly as the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/few-things-move-as-quietly-as-the-future/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [People who say, 'Let the chips fall where they may,' usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/people-who-say-let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may-usually-figure-they/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [Virtually the only subject in which one could ever get a scholarship to Oxford or Cambridge was classics. So I went to Oxford to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/virtually-the-only-subject-in-which-one-could-ever-get-a-scholarship/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers that his great-grandfather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/the-average-man-will-bristle-if-you-say-his-father-was-dishonest-but/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old girl laughing with a puppy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/no-symphony-orchestra-ever-played-music-like-a-two-year-old-girl/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/we-may-pass-violets-looking-for-roses-we-may-pass-contentment-looking/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) [Explore all 44 Bernard Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) [Gabriel Tarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-tarde/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bernard Williams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-species-but-also-for-a-quality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-species-but-also-for-a-quality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/549/bernard-williams-15194_humanity_humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-spec_1652390.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.” — Bernard Williams", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bernard Williams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'Humanity' is a name not merely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-species-but-also-for-a-quality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/humanity-is-a-name-not-merely-for-a-species-but-also-for-a-quality/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```