--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The highest ethical duty is often to…" description: "\"The highest ethical duty is often to discard the outmoded ethics of the past.\" — Corliss Lamont" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/corliss-lamont-24504_character_the-highest-ethical-duty-is-often-to-dis_727894.png" --- # The highest ethical duty is often to discard the outmoded… ![“The highest ethical duty is often to discard the outmoded ethics of the past.” quote by Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/corliss-lamont-24504_character_the-highest-ethical-duty-is-often-to-dis_727894.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/corliss-lamont-24504_character_the-highest-ethical-duty-is-often-to-dis_727894.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/corliss-lamont-24504_character_the-highest-ethical-duty-is-often-to-dis_727894.png) > “The highest ethical duty is often to discard the outmoded ethics of the past.” [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progress requires abandoning outdated moral codes and adopting new ethical frameworks suited to modern realities. **In simple terms:** Drop old ethics, adopt new ones for today. Key Takeaway Question and update your moral assumptions. Themes ethics progress modernity philosophy change Mood critical thoughtful provocative Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - technological advancement - cultural shifts - policy reform - education curricula Key Concepts moral relativism social evolution critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What outdated belief limits your actions? - How can you responsibly create new ethical standards? A Different Perspective New ethics may clash with deeply held traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There’s no way to succeed in business without the highest ethical standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-belfort/there-s-no-way-to-succeed-in-business-without-the-highest-ethical/) [Jordan Belfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-belfort/) > [“If it is true that we cannot possess knowledge of what is good in any absolute sense, it is equally true that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kearney/if-it-is-true-that-we-cannot-possess-knowledge-of-what-is-good-in-any/) [Richard Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kearney/) > [The prosecution has an ethical duty to ensure not just that they get a conviction when the defendant is guilty, but also to ensure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-clark/the-prosecution-has-an-ethical-duty-to-ensure-not-just-that-they-get/) [Marcia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-clark/) > [Doctors have an ethical duty to follow the practices and standards of care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mcdonnell/doctors-have-an-ethical-duty-to-follow-the-practices-and-standards-of/) [Bob McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mcdonnell/) > [“In Kant’s description, ethical duty functions like a foreign traumatic intruder that from the outside disturbs the subject’s homeostatic balance, its unbearable pressure forcing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/in-kant-s-description-ethical-duty-functions-like-a-foreign-traumatic/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I believe firmly that in making ethical decisions, man has the prerogative of true freedom of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/i-believe-firmly-that-in-making-ethical-decisions-man-has-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Indeed, as talk of a politics of meaning becomes more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-moments-of-caring-on-an/) [Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/) > [I'm a fan of Hugh Kenner, Richard Ellman, Lionel Trilling and Frank Kermode. All these people have taught me how to read - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/i-m-a-fan-of-hugh-kenner-richard-ellman-lionel-trilling-and-frank/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It is possible to believe in progress as a fact without believing in progress as an ethical principle; but in the catechism of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-wiener/it-is-possible-to-believe-in-progress-as-a-fact-without-believing-in/) [Norbert Wiener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-wiener/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. 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I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [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/) ## More by Corliss Lamont > [God, once imagined to be an omnipresent force throughout the whole world of nature and man. has been increasingly tending to seem omniabsent. Everywhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/god-once-imagined-to-be-an-omnipresent-force-throughout-the-whole/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [There is no place in the Humanist worldview for either immortality or God in the valid meanings of those terms. Humanism contends that instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/there-is-no-place-in-the-humanist-worldview-for-either-immortality-or/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [The intuition of free will gives us the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/the-intuition-of-free-will-gives-us-the-truth/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [The theory that everyone acts from self-interest, direct or indirect, is psychologically unsound. . . . Throughout history . . . there have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/the-theory-that-everyone-acts-from-self-interest-direct-or-indirect/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [I believe firmly that in making ethical decisions, man has the prerogative of true freedom of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/i-believe-firmly-that-in-making-ethical-decisions-man-has-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Most men, I am convinced, have an unmistakable feeling at the final moment of significant choice that they are making a free decision, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/most-men-i-am-convinced-have-an-unmistakable-feeling-at-the-final/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [The act of willing this or that, of choosing among various courses of conduct, is central in the realm of ethics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/the-act-of-willing-this-or-that-of-choosing-among-various-courses-of/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Overemphasis on the sex aspect of morality has led to a neglect of its other aspects and a narrowing of its range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/overemphasis-on-the-sex-aspect-of-morality-has-led-to-a-neglect-of/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Supernatural entities simply do not exist. This nonreality of the supernatural means, on the human level, that men do not possess supernatural and immortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/supernatural-entities-simply-do-not-exist-this-nonreality-of-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Humanism believes that the individual attains the good life by harmoniously combining personal satisfactions and continuous self-development with significant work and other activities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/humanism-believes-that-the-individual-attains-the-good-life-by/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Humanism involves far more than the negation of supernaturalism. It requires an affirmative philosophy . . . translated into a life devoted to one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/humanism-involves-far-more-than-the-negation-of-supernaturalism-it/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [I think . . . that philosophy has the duty of pointing out the falsity of outworn religious ideas, however estimable they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/i-think-that-philosophy-has-the-duty-of-pointing-out-the-falsity-of/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Feelings of right and wrong that at first have their locus within the family gradually develop into a pattern for the tribe or city,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/feelings-of-right-and-wrong-that-at-first-have-their-locus-within-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [Since Humanism as a functioning credo is so closely bound up with the methods of reason and science, plainly free speech and democracy are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/since-humanism-as-a-functioning-credo-is-so-closely-bound-up-with-the/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [The dynamic, creative present, however conditioned and restricted by the effects of prior presents, possesses genuine initiative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/the-dynamic-creative-present-however-conditioned-and-restricted-by/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) [Explore all 24 Corliss Lamont quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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