--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...it is in the very fundamentals of evil…" description: "\"...it is in the very fundamentals of evil that one always condemns it when they see it but rationalizes it when they do it.\" — Jack L. Chalker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/jack-l-chalker-15040_evil_it-is-in-the-very-fundamentals-of-evil-t_1394486.jpg" --- # ...it is in the very fundamentals of evil that one always… ![“...it is in the very fundamentals of evil that one always condemns it when they see it but rationalizes it when they do it.” quote by Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/jack-l-chalker-15040_evil_it-is-in-the-very-fundamentals-of-evil-t_1394486.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/jack-l-chalker-15040_evil_it-is-in-the-very-fundamentals-of-evil-t_1394486.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/jack-l-chalker-15040_evil_it-is-in-the-very-fundamentals-of-evil-t_1394486.jpg) > “...it is in the very fundamentals of evil that one always condemns it when they see it but rationalizes it when they do it.” [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People denounce evil when observed but justify it when they act, revealing self‑deception. **In simple terms:** We condemn evil from afar but excuse our own. Key Takeaway Watch for self‑justification. Themes morality psychology self‑deception ethics behavior Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decisions - leadership - justice - policy Key Concepts cognitive bias moral disengagement responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Why do we rationalize our own wrongdoing? - What mechanisms reveal hidden bias? A Different Perspective Self‑justification can blind accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Condemns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemns/) [Condemns Rationalizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemns-rationalizes-4869964/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Condemns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-condemns-4869962/) [Fundamentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals/) [Fundamentals Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals-evil-4869963/) [Rationalizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalizes-351435/) ## Related quotes > [It has been hard to get my head around how Justice Antonin Scalia rationalizes his decisions. His body blow to the Voting Rights Act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/it-has-been-hard-to-get-my-head-around-how-justice-antonin-scalia/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“...reason rationalizes reality for him (Dr. Nathan) as it does for the rest of us, in the Freudian sense of providing a more palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-2/reason-rationalizes-reality-for-him-dr-nathan-as-it-does-for-the-rest/) [J.G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard-2/) > [“My calling ties me to no office, makes me no man's slave, compels me to no action which my soul condemns. It sets me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-b-peel/my-calling-ties-me-to-no-office-makes-me-no-man-s-slave-compels-me-to/) [J.H.B Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-b-peel/) > [“One must repeat one’s confession of faith from time to time, actually state what one condones, what one condemns; for the opposing camp isn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goetheolfgang-von-goethe/one-must-repeat-one-s-confession-of-faith-from-time-to-time-actually/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goetheolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goetheolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Youth condemns; maturity condones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/youth-condemns-maturity-condones/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [The whole enterprise of teaching managers is steeped in the ethic of data-driven analytical support. The problem is, the data is only available about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/the-whole-enterprise-of-teaching-managers-is-steeped-in-the-ethic-of/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [“There's a good reason why the Catholic Church has never declared that any individual person has gone to Hell—the Vatican condemns certain behaviors, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-finn/there-s-a-good-reason-why-the-catholic-church-has-never-declared-that/) [Declan Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-finn/) > [I am not the only one that condemns the idle; for once when I was going to give our minister a pretty long list…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-am-not-the-only-one-that-condemns-the-idle-for-once-when-i-was/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The law condemns and punishes only actions within certain definite and narrow limits; it thereby justifies, in a way, all similar actions that lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-law-condemns-and-punishes-only-actions-within-certain-definite/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“We can’t have a God of love who makes everything that is good, who wants us to be happy, wants us to live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benedict/we-can-t-have-a-god-of-love-who-makes-everything-that-is-good-who/) [Charles Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benedict/) > [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [Always moved by religious motives, the Church has condemned the various forms of Marxist Socialism; and she condemns them today, because it is her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/always-moved-by-religious-motives-the-church-has-condemned-the/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [He who will have no judge but himself condemns himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/he-who-will-have-no-judge-but-himself-condemns-himself/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [“The Christian religion alone has been able to cure these twin vices, not by using one to expel the other according to worldly wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-christian-religion-alone-has-been-able-to-cure-these-twin-vices/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The Bible is not God, nor is it a substitute for God, and to treat it as if it were God or a surrogate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-gomes/the-bible-is-not-god-nor-is-it-a-substitute-for-god-and-to-treat-it/) [Peter J. Gomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-gomes/) ## More by Jack L. Chalker > [“It’s easy to rattle the saber if the enemy’s five thousand or more kilometers distant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/it-s-easy-to-rattle-the-saber-if-the-enemy-s-five-thousand-or-more/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“the true test of awesome power is the ability not to use it,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/the-true-test-of-awesome-power-is-the-ability-not-to-use-it/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“Nothing has taken more money or killed more people in the history of your race than religion,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/nothing-has-taken-more-money-or-killed-more-people-in-the-history-of/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“Magic,” Core responded, “is anything observable and perhaps repeatable that cannot be explained in terms of any existing knowledge on the part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/magic-core-responded-is-anything-observable-and-perhaps-repeatable/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“It makes absolutely no difference in the scheme of things whether all but a handful of people live or die. No more than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/it-makes-absolutely-no-difference-in-the-scheme-of-things-whether-all/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [I do not read SF as much as I used to. It's too much like a busman's holiday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/i-do-not-read-sf-as-much-as-i-used-to-it-s-too-much-like-a-busman-s/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“What was love, anyway? he mused. She said it was caring, caring more about someone else than about yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/what-was-love-anyway-he-mused-she-said-it-was-caring-caring-more/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [No, I don't autograph blank slips, checks, or stickers, and certainly no books without me in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/no-i-don-t-autograph-blank-slips-checks-or-stickers-and-certainly-no/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“Love is the most abused word in history. It is, simply, caring more for others than you do for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/love-is-the-most-abused-word-in-history-it-is-simply-caring-more-for/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [I write novels and other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/i-write-novels-and-other-things/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“There are only three kinds of people in the universe, no matter what their race or form. They are scoundrels, hypocrites, and sheep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/there-are-only-three-kinds-of-people-in-the-universe-no-matter-what/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [First, people don't read novels off screens, and they don't have a tendency to shell out real money for books when they don't retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/first-people-don-t-read-novels-off-screens-and-they-don-t-have-a/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“Power without the wisdom to use it properly was a very good definition of evil,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/power-without-the-wisdom-to-use-it-properly-was-a-very-good/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“there was supposed to be this man who was Jewish and claimed to be God’s son. For this the powers-that-be killed him, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/there-was-supposed-to-be-this-man-who-was-jewish-and-claimed-to-be/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) > [“Patience is a virtue best left to the dead, who can afford it,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/patience-is-a-virtue-best-left-to-the-dead-who-can-afford-it/) [Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) [Explore all 44 Jack L. Chalker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/) ## More Condemns quotes > [The Bible is not God, nor is it a substitute for God, and to treat it as if it were God or a surrogate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-gomes/the-bible-is-not-god-nor-is-it-a-substitute-for-god-and-to-treat-it/) [Peter J. Gomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-gomes/) > [“The Christian religion alone has been able to cure these twin vices, not by using one to expel the other according to worldly wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-christian-religion-alone-has-been-able-to-cure-these-twin-vices/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [He who will have no judge but himself condemns himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/he-who-will-have-no-judge-but-himself-condemns-himself/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Always moved by religious motives, the Church has condemned the various forms of Marxist Socialism; and she condemns them today, because it is her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/always-moved-by-religious-motives-the-church-has-condemned-the/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [“We can’t have a God of love who makes everything that is good, who wants us to be happy, wants us to live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benedict/we-can-t-have-a-god-of-love-who-makes-everything-that-is-good-who/) [Charles Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benedict/) > [The law condemns and punishes only actions within certain definite and narrow limits; it thereby justifies, in a way, all similar actions that lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-law-condemns-and-punishes-only-actions-within-certain-definite/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I am not the only one that condemns the idle; for once when I was going to give our minister a pretty long list…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-am-not-the-only-one-that-condemns-the-idle-for-once-when-i-was/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“There's a good reason why the Catholic Church has never declared that any individual person has gone to Hell—the Vatican condemns certain behaviors, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-finn/there-s-a-good-reason-why-the-catholic-church-has-never-declared-that/) [Declan Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-finn/) > [The whole enterprise of teaching managers is steeped in the ethic of data-driven analytical support. The problem is, the data is only available about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/the-whole-enterprise-of-teaching-managers-is-steeped-in-the-ethic-of/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [Youth condemns; maturity condones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/youth-condemns-maturity-condones/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [“One must repeat one’s confession of faith from time to time, actually state what one condones, what one condemns; for the opposing camp isn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goetheolfgang-von-goethe/one-must-repeat-one-s-confession-of-faith-from-time-to-time-actually/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goetheolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goetheolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“My calling ties me to no office, makes me no man's slave, compels me to no action which my soul condemns. It sets me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-b-peel/my-calling-ties-me-to-no-office-makes-me-no-man-s-slave-compels-me-to/) [J.H.B Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-b-peel/) > [Whatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/whatever-the-world-condemns-you-for-make-it-your-own-it-is-yourself/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [An artist would not rise above the mediocrity if he condemns it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/an-artist-would-not-rise-above-the-mediocrity-if-he-condemns-it/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) [Browse all 57 Condemns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemns/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...it is in the very fundamentals of evil that one always condemns it when they see it but rationalizes it when they do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack L. 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