--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since for me moral demands necessarily…" description: "\"Since for me moral demands necessarily flow from human psychology, I don't think we can be obliged to do something that we are not motivated in any way..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/dale-jamieson-4075_character_since-for-me-moral-demands-necessarily-f_3143642.jpg" --- # Since for me moral demands necessarily flow from human… ![“Since for me moral demands necessarily flow from human psychology, I don't think we can be obliged to do something that we are not motivated in any way to do. In other words, I'm an "internalist" about morality.” quote by Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/dale-jamieson-4075_character_since-for-me-moral-demands-necessarily-f_3143642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/dale-jamieson-4075_character_since-for-me-moral-demands-necessarily-f_3143642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/621/dale-jamieson-4075_character_since-for-me-moral-demands-necessarily-f_3143642.jpg) > “Since for me moral demands necessarily flow from human psychology, I don't think we can be obliged to do something that we are not motivated in any way to do. In other words, I'm an "internalist" about morality.” [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral obligations should align with personal motivation; otherwise they feel coercive. **In simple terms:** We should only be obliged to act when we are internally motivated. Key Takeaway Cultivate internal reasons for ethical actions. Themes morality motivation autonomy Mood reflective analytical Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace policies - environmental activism - personal habits Key Concepts ethical theory internalism Questions to Reflect On - What motivates your moral choices? - Can external incentives complement internal values? A Different Perspective External pressures may still be necessary for societal good. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Internalist Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internalist-morality-5613135/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Demands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-demands-1144813/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Motivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivated/) [Obliged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliged/) [Obliged Motivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliged-motivated-5613136/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Words Internalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-internalist-5613137/) ## Related quotes > [Go through the moral demands...one by one and you will find that man could not live up to them; the intention is not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/go-through-the-moral-demands-one-by-one-and-you-will-find-that-man/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Im thankful for the blog post. Much obliged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bookmarking/im-thankful-for-the-blog-post-much-obliged/) [Bookmarking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bookmarking/) > [Sometimes in the fashion industry we come across some unfair rules, but no one is obliged to follow them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/sometimes-in-the-fashion-industry-we-come-across-some-unfair-rules/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [The man who is asked by an author what he thinks of his work is put to the torture and is not obliged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-man-who-is-asked-by-an-author-what-he-thinks-of-his-work-is-put/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When the judges shall be obliged to go armed, it will be time for the courts to be closed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-judges-shall-be-obliged-to-go-armed-it-will-be-time-for-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“You see then, that Diatribe truly possesses a free choice in her handling of Scriptures, so that words of one and the same type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/you-see-then-that-diatribe-truly-possesses-a-free-choice-in-her/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [7IHC7g wow, awesome blog post. Much obliged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oem-software-buy/7ihc7g-wow-awesome-blog-post-much-obliged/) [Oem Software Buy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oem-software-buy/) > [Ordinary citizens are obliged and, if need be, compelled by force to meet their commitments. But let higher obligations of an international order be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-albert-gobat/ordinary-citizens-are-obliged-and-if-need-be-compelled-by-force-to/) [Charles Albert Gobat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-albert-gobat/) > [The cure for mixed metaphors, I have always found, is for the patient to be obliged to draw a picture of the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-levin/the-cure-for-mixed-metaphors-i-have-always-found-is-for-the-patient/) [Bernard Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-levin/) > [I have thoroughly tried school-keeping, and found that my expenses were in proportion, or rather out of proportion, to my income,for I was obliged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-thoroughly-tried-school-keeping-and-found-that-my-expenses/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Im obliged for the post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/social/im-obliged-for-the-post/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/social/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) ## More by Dale Jamieson > [People with long memories and a vivid sense of the past have an immediate understanding of politicians like Donald Trump. They are not surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/people-with-long-memories-and-a-vivid-sense-of-the-past-have-an/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [On my reading of history people who want to bring us the best are usually the people we ought to be afraid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/on-my-reading-of-history-people-who-want-to-bring-us-the-best-are/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [We know the "great men" and a handful of heavily cited papers in our specialization. When there is a historical frame around a paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/we-know-the-great-men-and-a-handful-of-heavily-cited-papers-in-our/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [The very essence of civilized culture is that we deliberately institute, in advance of the happening of various contingencies and emergencies of life, devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-very-essence-of-civilized-culture-is-that-we-deliberately/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-retrospectively-prospectively/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [In this era of globalization we are witnessing struggles within individual states about what their identity and interests consist in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/in-this-era-of-globalization-we-are-witnessing-struggles-within/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [You can't imagine anything like nature as we know it without predators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/you-can-t-imagine-anything-like-nature-as-we-know-it-without-predators/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Climate change involves fundamental choices about how we want to live and what kind of world we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/climate-change-involves-fundamental-choices-about-how-we-want-to-live/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Acts are right in virtue of the goodness of their consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/acts-are-right-in-virtue-of-the-goodness-of-their-consequences/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Our traditional systems of decision-making are just not up to preventing changes in fundamental earth systems that are driven by a constant barrage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/our-traditional-systems-of-decision-making-are-just-not-up-to/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [One of the real dangers of our time is people's indifference to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/one-of-the-real-dangers-of-our-time-is-people-s-indifference-to/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [We're not good at noticing slow, steady changes in our environments, our senses are not very acute compared to those of many animals, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/we-re-not-good-at-noticing-slow-steady-changes-in-our-environments/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Philosophers are smart, analytical, and skeptical. For these reasons they are relatively unbiased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/philosophers-are-smart-analytical-and-skeptical-for-these-reasons/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [The millennium development goals are important, both morally and economically, because much of the world's population maybe is as much as a third of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-millennium-development-goals-are-important-both-morally-and/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) [Explore all 116 Dale Jamieson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) ## 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. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. 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. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. 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