--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have used the word \"attention,\" which I…" description: "\"I have used the word \"attention,\" which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon individual reality. I b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/iris-murdoch-993_active_i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-b_49777.png" --- # I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from… ![“I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon individual reality. I believe this to be the characteristic and proper mark of the active moral agent.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/iris-murdoch-993_active_i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-b_49777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/iris-murdoch-993_active_i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-b_49777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/iris-murdoch-993_active_i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-b_49777.png) > “I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon individual reality. I believe this to be the characteristic and proper mark of the active moral agent.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote defines attention as a compassionate, focused awareness of each person's unique reality, marking moral agency. **In simple terms:** Compassionate focus defines moral action. Key Takeaway Attention is moral agency. Themes moral philosophy compassion personal reality ethical perception humanism Mood thoughtful reflective empathetic Type philosophical ethical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - teaching - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts attention moral agency individual reality Practical Applications - ethical decision‑making - personal coaching Questions to Reflect On - How does focused attention shape ethical choices? - What distinguishes a loving gaze from mere observation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Active Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active-moral-711837/) [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Gaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaze/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Agent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-agent-320076/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simone-weil/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Word Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-attention-711836/) ## Related quotes > [Power itself is simply a word to describe attention, awareness, which embodies all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/power-itself-is-simply-a-word-to-describe-attention-awareness-which/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“An active moral life cannot be evolved except where people are free to express their feelings and act upon the insights of conscience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dennison/an-active-moral-life-cannot-be-evolved-except-where-people-are-free/) [George Dennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dennison/) > [One is never just a teacher: One is always - even if not consciously - an advocate of a point of view, a critic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-audi/one-is-never-just-a-teacher-one-is-always-even-if-not-consciously-an/) [Robert Audi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-audi/) > [Unless the will is free, man has no freedom; and if he has no freedom he is not a moral agent, that is, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-grandison-finney/unless-the-will-is-free-man-has-no-freedom-and-if-he-has-no-freedom/) [Charles Grandison Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-grandison-finney/) > [The people are led to find in the productive apparatus the effective agent of thought and action to which their personal thought and action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-people-are-led-to-find-in-the-productive-apparatus-the-effective/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“We need to return from the self-centred concept of sincerity to the other-centred concept of truth. 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What's the nature of reality? Can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/first-philosophy-concerns-itself-with-all-kinds-of-issues-that-don-t/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The way of even the most justifiable revolution is prepared by personal impulses disguised into creeds. The Professor's indignation found in itself a final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-way-of-even-the-most-justifiable-revolution-is-prepared-by/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Man is a responsible moral agent, though he is also divinely controlled; man is divinely controlled, though he is also a responsible moral agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/man-is-a-responsible-moral-agent-though-he-is-also-divinely/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [I think that what one can see from a Darwinian account is how the addition of culture in our species turns us into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/i-think-that-what-one-can-see-from-a-darwinian-account-is-how-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Man is a free moral agent and can be magnanimous and deal disinterestedly, humanity is a definite goal, social justice is desirable and possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-a-free-moral-agent-and-can-be-magnanimous-and-deal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The responsibility of the writer as a moral agent is to try to bring the truth about matters of human significance to an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-responsibility-of-the-writer-as-a-moral-agent-is-to-try-to-bring/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A citizen is a political and moral agent who in fact has a shared sense of hope and responsibility to others and not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/a-citizen-is-a-political-and-moral-agent-who-in-fact-has-a-shared/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... 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