Evil Quote by Christopher Hitchens
““Populous cities are destroyed by earthquakes, and desolated by pestilence. Ambition is every where devoting its millions to incalculable calamity. Superstition, in a thousand shapes, is employed in brutalizing and degrading the human species, and fitting it to endure without a murmur the oppression of its innumerable tyrants. All this is abstractedly neither good nor evil because good and evil are words employed to designate that peculiar state of our own perceptions, resulting from the encounter of any object calculated to produce pleasure or pain. Exclude the idea of relation, and the words good and evil are deprived of import.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens, 2006
Human constructs of good and evil are subjective, arising from personal perception of pleasure and pain, not intrinsic truths.
In simple terms: Good and evil are based on how we feel about experiences.
Key Takeaway
Recognize that moral judgments are personal perceptions.
Themes
philosophy
ethics
perception
subjectivity
human nature
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- debates on morality
- personal decision making
- conflict resolution
- cultural analysis
- ethical education
Key Concepts
Moral relativism
subjective experience
psychology of judgment
Questions to Reflect On
- How do personal experiences shape your sense of right and wrong?
- Can societies find common ground despite subjective morals?
A Different Perspective
The view may overlook universal moral intuitions that guide societies.
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