--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To choose evil is to choose freedom…" description: "\"To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all restraint.\" — Georges Bataille" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg" --- # To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all… ![“To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all restraint.” quote by Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg) > “To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all restraint.” [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing evil is framed as an act of ultimate freedom, rejecting all constraints and moral restraints. **In simple terms:** Choosing evil equals ultimate freedom. Key Takeaway Consider the consequences of unrestricted freedom. Themes freedom evil choice morality Mood provocative serious Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - making moral decisions - exploring limits of freedom Key Concepts ethical philosophy personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - Is true freedom possible without ethical limits? - What responsibilities accompany unrestricted choice? A Different Perspective May ignore societal harm caused by evil. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emancipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Restraint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restraint/) ## Related quotes > [Freedom is the emancipation from the arbitrary rule of other men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/freedom-is-the-emancipation-from-the-arbitrary-rule-of-other-men/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [“We're all here. We all came from different places and for different reasons, but we all have to choose how we're going to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-rix/we-re-all-here-we-all-came-from-different-places-and-for-different/) [Deborah Rix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-rix/) > [To choose this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose, because we can never choose evil.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/to-choose-this-or-that-is-to-affirm-at-the-same-time-the-value-of/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“even when we do not choose evil, we choose the good so half heartedly and with so many qualifications that mediocrity becomes our canonized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-j-groeschel/even-when-we-do-not-choose-evil-we-choose-the-good-so-half-heartedly/) Benedict J. Groeschel > [Every person has the choice between Good and Evil. Choose Good, and stand against those who would choose Evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-kellner/every-person-has-the-choice-between-good-and-evil-choose-good-and/) [Friedrich Kellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-kellner/) > [There is no way of influencing men so powerfully as by means of the women. These should therefore be our chief study; we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-weishaupt/there-is-no-way-of-influencing-men-so-powerfully-as-by-means-of-the/) [Adam Weishaupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-weishaupt/) > [As we look into the future, we are going to need to be stronger and more responsible for our choices in a world where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/as-we-look-into-the-future-we-are-going-to-need-to-be-stronger-and/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [If there is good to be said, the writer should say it. If there is bad to be said, he should say it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/if-there-is-good-to-be-said-the-writer-should-say-it-if-there-is-bad/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“He traced a line in the dirt with his toe. ‘This is a battlefield. Has been since Cain killed Abel. And don’t let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-martin/he-traced-a-line-in-the-dirt-with-his-toe-this-is-a-battlefield-has/) [Charles Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-martin/) > [“Reject evil. Choose the good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/reject-evil-choose-the-good/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Do you know why Satan is so angry all the time? Because whenever he works a particularly clever bit of mischief God uses it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/do-you-know-why-satan-is-so-angry-all-the-time-because-whenever-he/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Having received the Spirit of Christ to know good from evil, we should always choose the good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/having-received-the-spirit-of-christ-to-know-good-from-evil-we-should/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/each-of-us-has-a-vision-of-good-and-of-evil-we-have-to-encourage-2/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“As long as mortals choose to do evil, then evil will triumph. And Lucifer will laugh when people blame it on the Heavenly Father.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerrelyn-sparks/as-long-as-mortals-choose-to-do-evil-then-evil-will-triumph-and/) [Kerrelyn Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerrelyn-sparks/) > [And does man simply choose evil, or does he create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/and-does-man-simply-choose-evil-or-does-he-create-it/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) ## More by Georges Bataille > [I think that knowledge enslaves us, that at the base of all knowledge there is a servility, the acceptation of a way of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/i-think-that-knowledge-enslaves-us-that-at-the-base-of-all-knowledge/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“The absent and inert girl hanging dreamless from my arms is no more foreign to me than the door or window through which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/the-absent-and-inert-girl-hanging-dreamless-from-my-arms-is-no-more/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [Pleasure only starts once the worm has got into the fruit; to become delightful, happiness must be tainted with poison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/pleasure-only-starts-once-the-worm-has-got-into-the-fruit-to-become/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [If I want to realize totality in my consciousness, I have to relate myself to an immense, ludicrous, and painful convulsion of all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/if-i-want-to-realize-totality-in-my-consciousness-i-have-to-relate/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“Our only real pleasure is to squander our resources to no purpose, just as if a wound were bleeding away inside us; we always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/our-only-real-pleasure-is-to-squander-our-resources-to-no-purpose/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [ \[F\]or academic men to be happy, the universe would have to take shape. All of philosophy has no other goal: it is a matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/f-or-academic-men-to-be-happy-the-universe-would-have-to-take-shape/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [I remain in intolerable non-knowledge, which has no other way out than ecstasy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/i-remain-in-intolerable-non-knowledge-which-has-no-other-way-out-than/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [ \[Zarathustra\] never abandoned the watchword of not having any end, not serving a cause, because, as he knew, causes pluck off the wings we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/zarathustra-never-abandoned-the-watchword-of-not-having-any-end-not/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“Pathetic creatures on their knees... Tirelessly, naively repeating, "Don't take our word for it! Alas, we're not all that logical. We say God–though in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/pathetic-creatures-on-their-knees-tirelessly-naively-repeating-don-t/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [The sovereign being is burdened with a servitude that crushes him, and the condition of free men is deliberate servility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/the-sovereign-being-is-burdened-with-a-servitude-that-crushes-him-and/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [The total person is first disclosed ... in areas of life that are lived frivolously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/the-total-person-is-first-disclosed-in-areas-of-life-that-are-lived/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [Thought does not ennoble us and neither does it differentiate humans from other animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/thought-does-not-ennoble-us-and-neither-does-it-differentiate-humans/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [I enjoyed the innocence of unhappiness and of helplessness; could I blame myself for a sin which attracted me, which flooded me with pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/i-enjoyed-the-innocence-of-unhappiness-and-of-helplessness-could-i/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [I believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/i-believe-that-truth-has-only-one-face-that-of-a-violent-contradiction/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [Literature ... is the rediscovery of childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/literature-is-the-rediscovery-of-childhood/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) [Explore all 117 Georges Bataille quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) ## More Emancipation quotes > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [The history of woman is the history of the continued and universal oppression of one sex by the other. The emancipation of woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-history-of-woman-is-the-history-of-the-continued-and-universal/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations - none of which I know how to work - information becomes a distraction, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/and-with-ipods-and-ipads-and-xboxes-and-playstations-none-of-which-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In emancipation from the fears that beset the slave of circumstance he will experience a profound joy, and through all the vicissitudes of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-emancipation-from-the-fears-that-beset-the-slave-of-circumstance/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Before and after emancipation, the Negro, in self-defense, was propelled toward the white employer. The endowments of wealthy white men have developed great institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/before-and-after-emancipation-the-negro-in-self-defense-was-propelled/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Wherever capitalism appears, in pursuit of its mission of exploitation, there will Socialism, fertilized by misery, watered by tears, and vitalized by agitation be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/wherever-capitalism-appears-in-pursuit-of-its-mission-of-exploitation/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/bringing-the-gifts-that-my-ancestors-gave-i-am-the-dream-and-the-hope/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/abstraction-allows-man-to-see-with-his-mind-what-he-cannot-physically/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [Abraham Lincoln would have been happy to have solved the slavery problem by compensation - in fact, drew up a gradual, compensated emancipation plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-would-have-been-happy-to-have-solved-the-slavery/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The Emancipation Proclamation is predicated upon the idea that the President may so annul the constitutions and laws of sovereign states, overthrow their domestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melville-fuller/the-emancipation-proclamation-is-predicated-upon-the-idea-that-the/) [Melville Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melville-fuller/) > [“The discourse of work as pure emancipation depends on blocking out class and age constantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-power/the-discourse-of-work-as-pure-emancipation-depends-on-blocking-out/) [Nina Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-power/) > [The truth alone has never set anyone free. It is only DOUBT which will bring about mental emancipation. Without the wonderful element of doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/the-truth-alone-has-never-set-anyone-free-it-is-only-doubt-which-will/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/you-point-out-that-war-is-only-a-symptom-of-the-whole-horrid-business/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) [Browse all 302 Emancipation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all restraint.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Georges Bataille" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-emancipation-from-all-restraint/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emancipation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-emancipation-from-all-restraint/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/georges-bataille-3741_emancipation_to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-eman_2018952.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To choose evil is to choose freedom, emancipation from all restraint.” — Georges Bataille", "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": "Georges Bataille", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To choose evil is to choose...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-emancipation-from-all-restraint/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/to-choose-evil-is-to-choose-freedom-emancipation-from-all-restraint/#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 } } ] } ```