--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know only that what is moral is what…" description: "\"I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/ernest-hemingway-83_immoral_i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-y_2918617.jpg" --- # I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after… ![“I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/ernest-hemingway-83_immoral_i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-y_2918617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/ernest-hemingway-83_immoral_i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-y_2918617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/ernest-hemingway-83_immoral_i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-y_2918617.jpg) > “I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Morality is judged by feeling good after an act; feeling bad signals immorality. **In simple terms:** Feelings gauge right and wrong. Key Takeaway Trust your conscience. Themes ethics emotion human behavior philosophy Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - daily decisions - conflict resolution - personal journaling - therapy sessions Key Concepts moral intuition psychological assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile gut feelings with rational analysis? - When should you override instinct? A Different Perspective Feelings can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/so-far-about-morals-i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Among the innumerable books on Addy’s shelves was one by Ernest Hemingway in which I found these words: ‘What is moral is what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-reid-banks/among-the-innumerable-books-on-addy-s-shelves-was-one-by-ernest/) [Lynne Reid Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-reid-banks/) > [About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/about-morals-i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/so-far-about-morals-i-know-only-that-what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-2/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [you may call a person vain, and they will smile; you may call them immoral, and they may even feel flattered - but call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-buckrose/you-may-call-a-person-vain-and-they-will-smile-you-may-call-them/) [J. E. Buckrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-buckrose/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“When we do a moral act to offset an immoral one, we are engaged in “moral cleansing.” When we do nothing, or perhaps something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/when-we-do-a-moral-act-to-offset-an-immoral-one-we-are-engaged-in/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [Some people are so moral they feel like they have no need for Jesus. True worshippers know they are in deep need of Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/some-people-are-so-moral-they-feel-like-they-have-no-need-for-jesus/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Kids can sniff out a moral. They can feel the heavy hand of an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/kids-can-sniff-out-a-moral-they-can-feel-the-heavy-hand-of-an-adult/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [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/) > [It is always incorrect to assume you can know what someone's moral convictions are based on their philosophical theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/it-is-always-incorrect-to-assume-you-can-know-what-someone-s-moral/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [“if she wants to go on with her ideology, let her go, let her be responsible for her decisions. But when she fails let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-prabhu-aradhya/if-she-wants-to-go-on-with-her-ideology-let-her-go-let-her-be/) [Arun Prabhu- aradhya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-prabhu-aradhya/) > [I know there is a moral to this story, but I don't know what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-know-there-is-a-moral-to-this-story-but-i-don-t-know-what-it-is/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Oh, it's simple pragmatism, Dad. It's called the real world. If we refused to do business with the morally questionable, the deal volume would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/oh-it-s-simple-pragmatism-dad-it-s-called-the-real-world-if-we/) [Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Immoral quotes > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I do not think homosexuality is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-do-not-think-homosexuality-is-immoral/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Food is being purposefully formulated to addict you.Then it is purposefully marketed, targeted to young children to addict them at an early age. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-david/food-is-being-purposefully-formulated-to-addict-you-then-it-is/) [Laurie David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-david/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I am calling on all citizens with access to unreleased records pertaining to illegal, unconstitutional, or immoral government activities to return those records to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-shapiro/i-am-calling-on-all-citizens-with-access-to-unreleased-records/) [Ryan Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-shapiro/) > [Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/give-up-money-give-up-fame-give-up-science-give-the-earth-itself-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I've put men to death-men with supposedly immoral souls-that looked dumber than that mouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-put-men-to-death-men-with-supposedly-immoral-souls-that-looked/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [One of two things when the guy you're dating isn't really ready to commit. He's an a\*\*hole and he's cheating on you; bottom line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-catherwood/one-of-two-things-when-the-guy-you-re-dating-isn-t-really-ready-to/) Michael Catherwood > [I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. 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