--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have an incredible capacity for the…" description: "\"We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible evil, all of us, it was that we also have this incredible capacity for good. And that is why we a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg" --- # We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible… ![“We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible evil, all of us, it was that we also have this incredible capacity for good. And that is why we are all of us appalled when something bad happens. Because if the bad was the norm, we would just shrug our shoulders and say "well tough luck, this…” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg) > “We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible evil, all of us, it was that we also have this incredible capacity for good. And that is why we are all of us appalled when something bad happens. Because if the bad was the norm, we would just shrug our shoulders and say "well tough luck, this is how the cookie crumbles" kind of thing but none of us does that.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans hold both profound evil and deep goodness; recognizing this duality fuels moral outrage and compassion. **In simple terms:** We are capable of both good and evil. Key Takeaway Cultivate compassion. Themes ethics human nature justice Mood hopeful serious Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - community service - education - policy making Key Concepts Moral philosophy psychology of evil Questions to Reflect On - How can we channel outrage into positive action? - What practices nurture our capacity for good? A Different Perspective Focusing on evil may cause despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) ## Related quotes > [“As we pull out of the parking lot, it occurs to me that maybe it’s not so complicated at all. Most of the time—99…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/as-we-pull-out-of-the-parking-lot-it-occurs-to-me-that-maybe-it-s-not/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Most of the time-- 99 percent of the time-- you just don't know how and why the threads are looped together, and that's okay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/most-of-the-time-99-percent-of-the-time-you-just-don-t-know-how-and-2/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A writer's life is so hazardous that anything he does is bad for him. Anything that happens to him is bad: failure's bad, success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-writer-s-life-is-so-hazardous-that-anything-he-does-is-bad-for-him/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [“Most of the time - 99 percent of the time - you just don't know how and why the threads are looped together, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/most-of-the-time-99-percent-of-the-time-you-just-don-t-know-how-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-is-no-safety-for-honest-men-except-by-believing-all-possible/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [There is no safety for honest men, but by believing all possible evil of evil men, and by acting with promptitude, decision, and steadiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-is-no-safety-for-honest-men-but-by-believing-all-possible-evil/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The Englishman is too apt to neglect the present good in preparing against the possible evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/the-englishman-is-too-apt-to-neglect-the-present-good-in-preparing/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“Is it possible that evil is never total, that its victory, no matter how overwhelming, is never absolute? Consider this fallen man. He sought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/is-it-possible-that-evil-is-never-total-that-its-victory-no-matter/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I have been brought up open-minded. If I didn't know any people from other countries, I'd think everyone was evil based on news stories.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-have-been-brought-up-open-minded-if-i-didn-t-know-any-people-from/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [“Is it possible for a man to be a good man when he is also a bad man? Is it possible for evil to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/is-it-possible-for-a-man-to-be-a-good-man-when-he-is-also-a-bad-man/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [When you label so much of what happens to you as 'bad,' it reinforces the feeling that you are a powerless pawn at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/srikumar-rao/when-you-label-so-much-of-what-happens-to-you-as-bad-it-reinforces/) [Srikumar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/srikumar-rao/) > [“From every bad thing that happens, another good thing happens; from every good thing that happens, a bad thing happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-liang/from-every-bad-thing-that-happens-another-good-thing-happens-from/) [Janice Liang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-liang/) > [“The whole what-goes-around-comes-around thing is simply our way of trying to make sense out of things that make no sense. Great stuff happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoey-dean/the-whole-what-goes-around-comes-around-thing-is-simply-our-way-of/) [Zoey Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoey-dean/) > [Something good happens or something bad, I think, 'What can I do better? What didn't I do this year?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheem-sterling/something-good-happens-or-something-bad-i-think-what-can-i-do-better/) [Raheem Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheem-sterling/) > [“Good happens only when bad is endured... :”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shekhar-das/good-happens-only-when-bad-is-endured/) Shekhar Das ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Capacity quotes > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [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/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I was only operating at about 80% of my capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-was-only-operating-at-about-80-of-my-capacity/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [“Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/teach-honesty-by-all-means-you-do-know-what-it-is-don-t-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [he cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-popova/he-cult-of-productivity-has-its-place-but-worshipping-at-its-altar/) [Maria Popova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-popova/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bravery-is-the-capacity-to-perform-properly-even-when-scared-half-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,320 Capacity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible evil, all of us, it was that we also have this incredible capacity for good. And that is why we are all of us appalled when something bad happens. Because if the bad was the norm, we would just shrug our shoulders and say \"well tough luck, this is how the cookie crumbles\" kind of thing but none of us does that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Desmond Tutu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-worst-possible-evil-all-of-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capacity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-worst-possible-evil-all-of-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/desmond-tutu-442_capacity_we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-w_958417.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have an incredible capacity for the worst possible evil, all of us, it was that we also have this…” — Desmond Tutu", "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": "Desmond Tutu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have an incredible capacity for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-worst-possible-evil-all-of-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-have-an-incredible-capacity-for-the-worst-possible-evil-all-of-us/#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 } } ] } ```