--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is ridiculous to say that art has…" description: "\"It is ridiculous to say that art has nothing to do with morality. What is true is that the artist's business is not that of the policeman.\" — George Be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/george-bernard-shaw-68_art_it-is-ridiculous-to-say-that-art-has-not_392502.png" --- # It is ridiculous to say that art has nothing to do with… ![“It is ridiculous to say that art has nothing to do with morality. What is true is that the artist's business is not that of the policeman.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/george-bernard-shaw-68_art_it-is-ridiculous-to-say-that-art-has-not_392502.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/george-bernard-shaw-68_art_it-is-ridiculous-to-say-that-art-has-not_392502.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/george-bernard-shaw-68_art_it-is-ridiculous-to-say-that-art-has-not_392502.png) > “It is ridiculous to say that art has nothing to do with morality. What is true is that the artist's business is not that of the policeman.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art and morality are separate; artists are not enforcers of ethical standards. **In simple terms:** Art need not be moral. Key Takeaway Judge art by its own merits. Themes art morality autonomy ethics society Mood thoughtful analytical critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - critic reviews - public policy debates - educational curricula Key Concepts aesthetic theory ethical autonomy role of artist Questions to Reflect On - Should artists consider moral impact? - Can art be truly amoral? A Different Perspective Art can influence morality indirectly, blurring the separation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) ## Related quotes > [How often I have found that we grow to maturity not by doing what we like, but by doing what we should. 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Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I believe that while art is always beyond morality, it is never above it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/i-believe-that-while-art-is-always-beyond-morality-it-is-never-above/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [It should be quite clear that it is possible for unpleasant people who are small in various ways other than in their artistic genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/it-should-be-quite-clear-that-it-is-possible-for-unpleasant-people/) [Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/) > [There should be no argument in regard to morality in art. There is no morality in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/there-should-be-no-argument-in-regard-to-morality-in-art-there-is-no/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [If you look at how great artists of the past, like Beethoven, for example dealt with art and morality, you see that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/if-you-look-at-how-great-artists-of-the-past-like-beethoven-for/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [The greatest works of literature seem to embody both "art" and "morality".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-greatest-works-of-literature-seem-to-embody-both-art-and-morality/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [It's kinda ridiculous what you can't say nowadays. You really can't say anything you believe! I think it's fricking ridiculous how sensitive everyone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draymond-green/it-s-kinda-ridiculous-what-you-can-t-say-nowadays-you-really-can-t/) [Draymond Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draymond-green/) > [ You know, I don't want to be offensive. But 'Infinite Jest' \[regarded by many as Wallace's masterpiece\] is just awful. It seems ridiculous to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/you-know-i-don-t-want-to-be-offensive-but-infinite-jest-regarded-by/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [It would be ridiculous to say I don't want to sell records, but I trust my taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-sweatshirt/it-would-be-ridiculous-to-say-i-don-t-want-to-sell-records-but-i/) [Earl Sweatshirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-sweatshirt/) > [One would appear ridiculous who would say, that it is only probable the sun will rise to-morrow, or that all men must die; thoughit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/one-would-appear-ridiculous-who-would-say-that-it-is-only-probable/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [A lot of artists still will not get that far. And get that far and be as successful. So, it's a great thing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginuwine/a-lot-of-artists-still-will-not-get-that-far-and-get-that-far-and-be/) [Ginuwine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginuwine/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [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/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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