--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without ethics, everything happens as if…" description: "\"Without ethics, everything happens as if we were all five billion passengers on a big machinery and nobody is driving the machinery. And it's going fas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_big-mac_without-ethics-everything-happens-as-if_2991305.jpg" --- # Without ethics, everything happens as if we were all five… ![“Without ethics, everything happens as if we were all five billion passengers on a big machinery and nobody is driving the machinery. And it's going faster and faster, but we don't know where.” quote by Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_big-mac_without-ethics-everything-happens-as-if_2991305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_big-mac_without-ethics-everything-happens-as-if_2991305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dd/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_big-mac_without-ethics-everything-happens-as-if_2991305.jpg) > “Without ethics, everything happens as if we were all five billion passengers on a big machinery and nobody is driving the machinery. And it's going faster and faster, but we don't know where.” [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without ethics, humanity drifts like passengers on an unmanned, accelerating machine. **In simple terms:** Lack of ethics leads to uncontrolled progress. Key Takeaway Embed ethics in all actions. Themes ethics responsibility technology Mood concerned thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - business strategy - environmental policy - AI development Key Concepts moral philosophy systems theory Questions to Reflect On - What ethical frameworks guide you? - How to balance speed and responsibility? A Different Perspective Ethics can slow innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) ## Related quotes > [Once you've built the big machinery of political power, remember you won't always be the one to run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/once-you-ve-built-the-big-machinery-of-political-power-remember-you/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [It is great to be a part of big-budget movies, but it is harder to feel like you are contributing, in the sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomie-harris/it-is-great-to-be-a-part-of-big-budget-movies-but-it-is-harder-to/) [Naomie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomie-harris/) > [In general, I try to eat food without added hormones and pesticides, but I'm not so strict that I won't have a Big Mac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-peregrym/in-general-i-try-to-eat-food-without-added-hormones-and-pesticides/) [Missy Peregrym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-peregrym/) > [“Just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean the fire's out, son”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/just-because-there-s-snow-on-the-roof-doesn-t-mean-the-fire-s-out-son/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-am-the-literary-equivalent-of-a-big-mac-and-fries/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ You know Chuck \[Schumer\] - always got to be the big macher. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/you-know-chuck-schumer-always-got-to-be-the-big-macher/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“That moment, when you first lay eyes on that field — The Monster, the triangle, the scoreboard, the light tower Big Mac bashed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-stark/that-moment-when-you-first-lay-eyes-on-that-field-the-monster-the/) Jayson Stark > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [That awkward moment when your in the drive-through and you ask for a Big Mac,then you realize your at Taco Bell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-simmons/that-awkward-moment-when-your-in-the-drive-through-and-you-ask-for-a/) Scar Simmons > [“Strangest of all, we’ve convinced ourselves that our health has nothing to do with what we eat. People who will spend that extra 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/strangest-of-all-we-ve-convinced-ourselves-that-our-health-has/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [AS y'all know I'm going for 15 days or so for travelling , so yeah :( You GUYS are my hole-digging, browser-history-erasing, funeral-invitation-only assurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila/as-y-all-know-i-m-going-for-15-days-or-so-for-travelling-so-yeah-you/) [Leila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila/) > [Doubt is the big machine. It grinds up the delusions of women and men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/doubt-is-the-big-machine-it-grinds-up-the-delusions-of-women-and-men/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [Because you're fat, you feel that everybody's watching every bite you take. So, you closet-eat, and you think because nobody sees you eating, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/because-you-re-fat-you-feel-that-everybody-s-watching-every-bite-you/) [Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/) > [“Jaden: "Dude, you've found something wrong with every girl. I'm about to play this one solo if you can't make up your mind." Bastian:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyrae-dawn/jaden-dude-you-ve-found-something-wrong-with-every-girl-i-m-about-to/) [Nyrae Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyrae-dawn/) > [“It’s crowded today, the day before the big macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and people are filling up the tunnel like lemmings or cockroaches running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-crowded-today-the-day-before-the-big-macy-s-thanksgiving-day/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jacques Yves Cousteau > [With earth's burgeoning human population to feed we must turn to the sea with understanding and new technology. We need to farm it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/with-earth-s-burgeoning-human-population-to-feed-we-must-turn-to-the/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [We must go and see for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/we-must-go-and-see-for-ourselves/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/we-are-human-beings-and-we-have-faith-and-we-have-hope/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [And let us remember too that life, in its exuberance, always succeeds in overflowing the narrow limits within which man thinks he can confine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/and-let-us-remember-too-that-life-in-its-exuberance-always-succeeds/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [I experimented with all possible maneuvers-loops, somersaults and barrel rolls. I stood upside down on one finger and burst out laughing, a shrill, distorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/i-experimented-with-all-possible-maneuvers-loops-somersaults-and/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [It is certain that the study of human psychology, if it were undertaken exclusively in prisons, would also lead to misrepresentation and absurd generalizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/it-is-certain-that-the-study-of-human-psychology-if-it-were/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [However fragmented the world, however intense the national rivalries, it is an inexorable fact that we become more interdependent every day. I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/however-fragmented-the-world-however-intense-the-national-rivalries/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/if-we-go-on-the-way-we-have-the-fault-is-our-greed-and-if-we-are-not/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [The reason I love the sea I cannot explain - it's physical. When you dive you begin to feel like an angel. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/the-reason-i-love-the-sea-i-cannot-explain-it-s-physical-when-you/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [If human civilization is going to invade the waters of the earth, then let it be first of all to carry a message of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/if-human-civilization-is-going-to-invade-the-waters-of-the-earth-then/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [No sooner does man discover intelligence than he tries to involve it in his own stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/no-sooner-does-man-discover-intelligence-than-he-tries-to-involve-it-2/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/the-impossible-missions-are-the-only-ones-which-succeed/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/the-sea-the-great-unifier-is-man-s-only-hope-now-as-never-before-the/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [We must alert and organise the world's people to pressure world leaders to take specific steps to solve the two root causes of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/we-must-alert-and-organise-the-world-s-people-to-pressure-world/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [We must plant the sea and herd its animals using the sea as farmers instead of hunters. That is what civilization is all about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/we-must-plant-the-sea-and-herd-its-animals-using-the-sea-as-farmers/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) [Explore all 73 Jacques Yves Cousteau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) ## More Big mac quotes > [“It’s crowded today, the day before the big macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and people are filling up the tunnel like lemmings or cockroaches running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-crowded-today-the-day-before-the-big-macy-s-thanksgiving-day/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Jaden: "Dude, you've found something wrong with every girl. I'm about to play this one solo if you can't make up your mind." Bastian:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyrae-dawn/jaden-dude-you-ve-found-something-wrong-with-every-girl-i-m-about-to/) [Nyrae Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyrae-dawn/) > [Because you're fat, you feel that everybody's watching every bite you take. So, you closet-eat, and you think because nobody sees you eating, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/because-you-re-fat-you-feel-that-everybody-s-watching-every-bite-you/) [Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/) > [Doubt is the big machine. It grinds up the delusions of women and men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/doubt-is-the-big-machine-it-grinds-up-the-delusions-of-women-and-men/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [AS y'all know I'm going for 15 days or so for travelling , so yeah :( You GUYS are my hole-digging, browser-history-erasing, funeral-invitation-only assurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila/as-y-all-know-i-m-going-for-15-days-or-so-for-travelling-so-yeah-you/) [Leila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila/) > [“Strangest of all, we’ve convinced ourselves that our health has nothing to do with what we eat. People who will spend that extra 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-silverstone/strangest-of-all-we-ve-convinced-ourselves-that-our-health-has/) [Alicia Silverstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-silverstone/) > [That awkward moment when your in the drive-through and you ask for a Big Mac,then you realize your at Taco Bell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-simmons/that-awkward-moment-when-your-in-the-drive-through-and-you-ask-for-a/) Scar Simmons > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“That moment, when you first lay eyes on that field — The Monster, the triangle, the scoreboard, the light tower Big Mac bashed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-stark/that-moment-when-you-first-lay-eyes-on-that-field-the-monster-the/) Jayson Stark > [ You know Chuck \[Schumer\] - always got to be the big macher. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/you-know-chuck-schumer-always-got-to-be-the-big-macher/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-am-the-literary-equivalent-of-a-big-mac-and-fries/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean the fire's out, son”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/just-because-there-s-snow-on-the-roof-doesn-t-mean-the-fire-s-out-son/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [In general, I try to eat food without added hormones and pesticides, but I'm not so strict that I won't have a Big Mac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-peregrym/in-general-i-try-to-eat-food-without-added-hormones-and-pesticides/) [Missy Peregrym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-peregrym/) > [“Afterwards, we don’t head straight back to work. Instead, we stop at McDonald’s. Kristy gets a Happy Meal. Cora gets like four pies, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-johnson/afterwards-we-don-t-head-straight-back-to-work-instead-we-stop-at/) [Hannah Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-johnson/) > [When McDonald's opened up in Moscow - I happened to be there when it opened and wandered in. And the Russians were queuing three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gimlette/when-mcdonald-s-opened-up-in-moscow-i-happened-to-be-there-when-it/) [John Gimlette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gimlette/) Browse all 143 Big mac quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without ethics, everything happens as if we were all five billion passengers on a big machinery and nobody is driving the machinery. 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