--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the ability to tell right from wrong…" description: "\"If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to 'demand' its exercise in every sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg" --- # If the ability to tell right from wrong should have… ![“If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to 'demand' its exercise in every sane person no matter how erudite or ignorant.” quote by Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg) > “If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to 'demand' its exercise in every sane person no matter how erudite or ignorant.” [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral reasoning requires active thought; society must demand ethical thinking from all, regardless of knowledge level. **In simple terms:** Thinking is essential for moral judgment. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking in everyone. Themes ethics education responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - schools - public policy - community discussions - media literacy Key Concepts moral philosophy critical rationality civic duty Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster thinking without coercion? - What role does education play in moral development? A Different Perspective People may resist forced moral engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Erudite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erudite/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Right From Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-from-wrong/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“The ability to think isn't exclusive to erudite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/the-ability-to-think-isn-t-exclusive-to-erudite/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [If the ability to tell right from wrong should turn out to have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong-should-turn-out-to-have/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [I think was able to do a lot of things here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latrell-sprewell/i-think-was-able-to-do-a-lot-of-things-here/) [Latrell Sprewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latrell-sprewell/) > [I think I'd be able to get along with Vladimir Putin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-think-i-d-be-able-to-get-along-with-vladimir-putin/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We are often able because we think we are able.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-johnson-hawes/we-are-often-able-because-we-think-we-are-able/) [Josiah Johnson Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-johnson-hawes/) > [I think that we have been able to demonstrate that we cannot just consume software, that we can create software that can be used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ory-okolloh/i-think-that-we-have-been-able-to-demonstrate-that-we-cannot-just/) [Ory Okolloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ory-okolloh/) > [I think if you're able to make the music you want and you can do it in the right kind of context, you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-iha/i-think-if-you-re-able-to-make-the-music-you-want-and-you-can-do-it/) [James Iha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-iha/) > [If you can't control what you think, you will not be able to control what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/if-you-can-t-control-what-you-think-you-will-not-be-able-to-control/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I don't think I'd ever be able to give up the spotlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/i-don-t-think-i-d-ever-be-able-to-give-up-the-spotlight/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [I didn't think I'd ever be able to do movies. That was for serious actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-didn-t-think-i-d-ever-be-able-to-do-movies-that-was-for-serious/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Part of that, I think, is being able to tune out folly, as distinguished from recognizing wisdom. You've got whole categories of things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/part-of-that-i-think-is-being-able-to-tune-out-folly-as-distinguished/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I wasn't looking at it like, 'I'm singing for AC/DC.' I was looking at it like, 'Y'know, if I can, and if they think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/axl-rose/i-wasn-t-looking-at-it-like-i-m-singing-for-ac-dc-i-was-looking-at-it/) [Axl Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/axl-rose/) > [I don't think I will be able act; I am not talented in that area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-randhawa/i-don-t-think-i-will-be-able-act-i-am-not-talented-in-that-area/) [Guru Randhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-randhawa/) > [“Sometimes we think we should be able to know everything. But we can’t. We have to allow ourselves to see what there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/sometimes-we-think-we-should-be-able-to-know-everything-but-we-can-t/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Don't you think if I was able to make some changes, I would have already?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/don-t-you-think-if-i-was-able-to-make-some-changes-i-would-have/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) ## More by Hannah Arendt > [“It means, first, that everything that appears in public can be seen and heard by everybody and has the widest possible publicity. For us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-means-first-that-everything-that-appears-in-public-can-be-seen-and/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would, as it were, be confined to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/without-being-forgiven-released-from-the-consequences-of-what-we-have/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Nationalism always preserved this initial intimate loyalty to the government and never quite lost its function of preserving a precarious balance between nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/nationalism-always-preserved-this-initial-intimate-loyalty-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greater-the-bureaucratization-of-public-life-the-greater-will-be/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/forgiveness-is-the-key-to-action-and-freedom/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Death not merely ends life, it also bestows upon it a silent completeness, snatched from the hazardous flux to which all things human are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/death-not-merely-ends-life-it-also-bestows-upon-it-a-silent/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/only-crime-and-the-criminal-it-is-true-confront-us-with-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [We have almost succeeded in leveling all human activities to the common denominator of securing the necessities of life and providing for their abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/we-have-almost-succeeded-in-leveling-all-human-activities-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“It is like the distinction between war and peace: just as war takes place for the sake of peace, thus every kind of activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-like-the-distinction-between-war-and-peace-just-as-war-takes/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Every end in history necessarily contains a new beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/every-end-in-history-necessarily-contains-a-new-beginning/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) [Explore all 405 Hannah Arendt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to 'demand' its exercise in every sane person no matter how erudite or ignorant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah Arendt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong-should-have-anything-to-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong-should-have-anything-to-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/hannah-arendt-610_ability_if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong_541770.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must…” — Hannah Arendt", "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": "Hannah Arendt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the ability to tell right...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong-should-have-anything-to-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/if-the-ability-to-tell-right-from-wrong-should-have-anything-to-do/#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 } } ] } ```