--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The bad man is the man who no matter how…" description: "\"The bad man is the man who no matter how good he has been is beginning to deteriorate, to grow less good. The good man is the man who no matter how mor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/john-dewey-545_bad-man_the-bad-man-is-the-man-who-no-matter-how_2076026.jpg" --- # The bad man is the man who no matter how good he has been… ![“The bad man is the man who no matter how good he has been is beginning to deteriorate, to grow less good. The good man is the man who no matter how morally unworthy he has been is moving to become better. Such a conception makes one severe in judging himself and humane in judging others.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/john-dewey-545_bad-man_the-bad-man-is-the-man-who-no-matter-how_2076026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/john-dewey-545_bad-man_the-bad-man-is-the-man-who-no-matter-how_2076026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a2/john-dewey-545_bad-man_the-bad-man-is-the-man-who-no-matter-how_2076026.jpg) > “The bad man is the man who no matter how good he has been is beginning to deteriorate, to grow less good. The good man is the man who no matter how morally unworthy he has been is moving to become better. Such a conception makes one severe in judging himself and humane in judging others.” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral character is fluid; goodness can decline while badness can improve, urging humility in self‑judgment and compassion toward others. **In simple terms:** People can change for better or worse. Key Takeaway Judge yourself gently, judge others kindly. Themes morality humility personal growth Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - self‑reflection - conflict resolution - leadership - teaching - counseling Key Concepts ethical development character fluidity Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure personal improvement? - What steps foster compassion for others' flaws? A Different Perspective People may resist acknowledging their own decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-man/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Humane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humane/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Judging others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging-others/) [Man Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-matter-612957/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Morally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-morally-4030954/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Morally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morally/) [Morally Unworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morally-unworthy-2289607/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Severe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/severe/) [Unworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unworthy/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-good-man-is-the-man-who-no-matter-how-morally-unworthy-he-has/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [99% of our uses of animals, including our numerically most significant use of them for food, do not involve any sort of necessity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/99-of-our-uses-of-animals-including-our-numerically-most-significant/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Being male is a matter of birth, being a man is a matter of age, but being a gentlemen is a matter of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-male-is-a-matter-of-birth-being-a-man-is-a-matter-of-age-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest inventions are those inquiries which tend to increase the power of man over matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-greatest-inventions-are-those-inquiries-which-tend-to-increase/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Man is the matter of the cosmos, contemplating itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/man-is-the-matter-of-the-cosmos-contemplating-itself/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [No matter how much work a man can do, no matter how engaging his personality may be, he will not advance far in business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-craig/no-matter-how-much-work-a-man-can-do-no-matter-how-engaging-his/) [John Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-craig/) > [No matter how much a young man likes to think for himself, he is always trying to model himself on some abstract pattern largely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/no-matter-how-much-a-young-man-likes-to-think-for-himself-he-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window, and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/man-was-matter-that-was-snowden-s-secret-drop-him-out-a-window-and-he/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [Being a male is the matter of birth, being a man is the matter of age, But being a gentleman is the matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-male-is-the-matter-of-birth-being-a-man-is-the-matter-of-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being a male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/being-a-male-is-a-matter-of-birth-being-a-man-is-a-matter-of-choice/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [A man has to BE something; he has to matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/a-man-has-to-be-something-he-has-to-matter/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Being a 'male' is a matter of gender...being a man is a matter of choice, discipline, habit, and maturity. Age doesn't make you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-a-male-is-a-matter-of-gender-being-a-man-is-a-matter-of-choice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's only really two things about a man that matter: what he wants, and what he'll do to get it. Everythin' else we pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-woodring-stover/there-s-only-really-two-things-about-a-man-that-matter-what-he-wants/) [Matthew Woodring Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-woodring-stover/) > [“Man was matter. Drop him out of a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/man-was-matter-drop-him-out-of-a-window-and-he-ll-fall-set-fire-to/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“The most important thing that is happening in the world right now is the emerging of the new man. Since the monkeys, man has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/the-most-important-thing-that-is-happening-in-the-world-right-now-is/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) ## More by John Dewey > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. 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The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Men live in a community in virtue of the things which they have in common; and communication is the way in which they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/men-live-in-a-community-in-virtue-of-the-things-which-they-have-in/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-can-have-facts-without-thinking-but-we-cannot-have-thinking/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aware-of-the-superficiality-of/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Even the alleged benefits of war, so far as more than alleged, spring from the fact that conflict of peoples at least enforces intercourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/even-the-alleged-benefits-of-war-so-far-as-more-than-alleged-spring/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“When the organization called soul is free, moving and operative, initial as well as terminal, it is spirit. Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Since in reality there is nothing to which growth is relative save more growth, there is nothing to which education is subordinate save more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-in-reality-there-is-nothing-to-which-growth-is-relative-save/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Creative thinking will improve as we relate the new fact to the old and all facts to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/creative-thinking-will-improve-as-we-relate-the-new-fact-to-the-old/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) [Explore all 486 John Dewey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More Bad man quotes > [I don't do plays without jokes anymore. I've retired from those plays. I think it's bad manners to invite people to sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-don-t-do-plays-without-jokes-anymore-i-ve-retired-from-those-plays/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [“It is said that the hallmark of a gentleman is that he is only ever rude intentionally. Arthur Bryant was no gentleman. His rudeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fowler/it-is-said-that-the-hallmark-of-a-gentleman-is-that-he-is-only-ever/) [Christopher Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fowler/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Why, just a couple of economic seasons ago, was idle cash considered an indication of bad management or lazy management? Because it meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/why-just-a-couple-of-economic-seasons-ago-was-idle-cash-considered-an/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Terrorism is obviously on everybody's mind. The other day my son says to me, 'Daddy, how come the bad men hate us?' How sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/terrorism-is-obviously-on-everybody-s-mind-the-other-day-my-son-says/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/if-i-was-to-ask-you-tonight-if-you-were-saved-do-you-say-yes-i-am/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [What is a good man? Simply one whose life is useful to the world. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-macleod/as-it-happens-i-m-a-terrible-dancer-bears-are-simply-not-made-for/) [Doug MacLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-macleod/) > [The Gospel of Jesus Christ can make bad men good and good men better, can alter human nature, and can change human lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-can-make-bad-men-good-and-good-men-better/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [This self-congratulatory notion Americans have that their country is Number One is borne of ignorance and bad manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/this-self-congratulatory-notion-americans-have-that-their-country-is/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [You can learn a lot about good management by working under someone who is a bad manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/you-can-learn-a-lot-about-good-management-by-working-under-someone/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) [Browse all 410 Bad man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The bad man is the man who no matter how good he has been is beginning to deteriorate, to grow less good. 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