--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What, by a word lacking even in grammar…" description: "\"What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit to any norm, you have, nol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2df/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_amorality_what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-i_976205.jpg" --- # What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called… ![“What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit to any norm, you have, nolens volens , to submit to the norm of denying all morality, and this is not amoral, but immoral. It is a negative morality which preserves the…” quote by Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2df/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_amorality_what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-i_976205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2df/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_amorality_what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-i_976205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2df/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_amorality_what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-i_976205.jpg) > “What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit to any norm, you have, nolens volens , to submit to the norm of denying all morality, and this is not amoral, but immoral. It is a negative morality which preserves the empty form of the other.” [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## 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 argues that rejecting all moral standards is not a neutral stance but creates a harmful, empty morality that still upholds a hidden norm. **In simple terms:** Rejecting morality creates a hidden harmful norm. Key Takeaway Beware of claiming amoral neutrality. Themes ethics philosophy norms morality contradiction Mood critical thought‑provoking serious Type philosophical analytical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - personal decision making - legal frameworks - social movements Key Concepts existentialism negative ethics normative critique Questions to Reflect On - What does “amoral” really mean in practice? - How can we identify hidden moral assumptions? A Different Perspective It may overlook the subtle ways power can be exercised through claimed neutrality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amorality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorality/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) ## Related quotes > [Cats are autocrats of naked self-interest. They are both amoral and immoral, consciously breaking rules. Their ''evil'' look at such times is no human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/cats-are-autocrats-of-naked-self-interest-they-are-both-amoral-and/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Thereis no such thing as amoral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/thereis-no-such-thing-as-amoral-or-an-immoral-book-books-are-well/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I do not set myself up as a moral exemplar, and would be swiftly knocked down if I did, but if I was suspected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-do-not-set-myself-up-as-a-moral-exemplar-and-would-be-swiftly/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The amorality of nature is accepted, whether it takes the form of a monsoon, an elephant in musth, or a disease; but being subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-amorality-of-nature-is-accepted-whether-it-takes-the-form-of-a/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. 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I have everything bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-inherited-the-worst-of-each-parent-i-have-my-father-s/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“We see here that Plato recognizes only one ultimate standard, the interest of the state. Everything that furthers it is good and virtuous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-see-here-that-plato-recognizes-only-one-ultimate-standard-the/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“You know I love you. You're the only one." "She isn't the first woman he's ever said that to. He shouldn't have used it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-know-i-love-you-you-re-the-only-one-she-isn-t-the-first-woman-he/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“ROSINE. What gives you the right? BARTHOLO. The oldest right in the world: the right of the strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/rosine-what-gives-you-the-right-bartholo-the-oldest-right-in-the/) [Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/) > [Prostitution is not just a service industry, mopping up the overflow of male demand, which always exceeds female supply. Prostitution testifies to the amoral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/prostitution-is-not-just-a-service-industry-mopping-up-the-overflow/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Ultimately amorality is immorality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-m-keesing/ultimately-amorality-is-immorality/) Roger M. Keesing > [“Ah. Well, it stands for Freedom From Morality. We don't think healthy amorality happens naturally." "But you're not amoral," I pointed out. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/ah-well-it-stands-for-freedom-from-morality-we-don-t-think-healthy/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“Each generation exercises power over its successors: and each, in so far as it modifies the environment bequeathed to it and rebels against tradition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/each-generation-exercises-power-over-its-successors-and-each-in-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Jose Ortega y Gasset > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In these years we are witnessing the gigantic spectacle of innumerable human lives wandering about lost in their own labyrinths, through not having anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-these-years-we-are-witnessing-the-gigantic-spectacle-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In order to master the unruly torrent of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-order-to-master-the-unruly-torrent-of-life-the-learned-man/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The common man, finding himself in a world so excellent, technically and socially, believes it has been produced by nature, and never thinks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-common-man-finding-himself-in-a-world-so-excellent-technically/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/barbarism-is-the-absence-of-standards-to-which-appeal-can-be-made/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The form most contradictory to human life that can appear among the human species is the "self-sat-isfied man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-form-most-contradictory-to-human-life-that-can-appear-among-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“For there is no doubt that the most radical division that is possible to make of humanity is that which splits into two classes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/for-there-is-no-doubt-that-the-most-radical-division-that-is-possible/) [José Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [What makes a nation great is not primarily its great men, but the stature of its innumerable mediocre ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/what-makes-a-nation-great-is-not-primarily-its-great-men-but-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand. This is the sport, the luxury, special to the intellectual man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/to-be-surprised-to-wonder-is-to-begin-to-understand-this-is-the-sport/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Romantic poses aside, let us recognize that "falling in love"...is an inferior state of mind, a form of transitory imbecility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/romantic-poses-aside-let-us-recognize-that-falling-in-love-is-an/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Law is born from despair of human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/law-is-born-from-despair-of-human-nature/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The masses think that is is easy to flee from reality, when it is the most difficult thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-masses-think-that-is-is-easy-to-flee-from-reality-when-it-is-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The librarian's mission should be, not like up to now, a mere handling of the book as an object, but rather a know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-librarian-s-mission-should-be-not-like-up-to-now-a-mere-handling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Whether he be an original or a plagiarist, man is the novelist of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/whether-he-be-an-original-or-a-plagiarist-man-is-the-novelist-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Here, then, is the point at which I see the new mission of the librarian rise up incomparably higher than all those preceding. Up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/here-then-is-the-point-at-which-i-see-the-new-mission-of-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) [Explore all 204 Jose Ortega y Gasset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## More Amorality quotes > [“Each generation exercises power over its successors: and each, in so far as it modifies the environment bequeathed to it and rebels against tradition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/each-generation-exercises-power-over-its-successors-and-each-in-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Ah. Well, it stands for Freedom From Morality. We don't think healthy amorality happens naturally." "But you're not amoral," I pointed out. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/ah-well-it-stands-for-freedom-from-morality-we-don-t-think-healthy/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“Ultimately amorality is immorality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-m-keesing/ultimately-amorality-is-immorality/) Roger M. Keesing > [Prostitution is not just a service industry, mopping up the overflow of male demand, which always exceeds female supply. Prostitution testifies to the amoral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/prostitution-is-not-just-a-service-industry-mopping-up-the-overflow/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“ROSINE. What gives you the right? BARTHOLO. The oldest right in the world: the right of the strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/rosine-what-gives-you-the-right-bartholo-the-oldest-right-in-the/) [Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“You know I love you. You're the only one." "She isn't the first woman he's ever said that to. He shouldn't have used it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-know-i-love-you-you-re-the-only-one-she-isn-t-the-first-woman-he/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“We see here that Plato recognizes only one ultimate standard, the interest of the state. Everything that furthers it is good and virtuous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-see-here-that-plato-recognizes-only-one-ultimate-standard-the/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I've inherited the worst of each parent. I have my father's hypochondria and lack of concentration. I have his amorality. I have everything bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-inherited-the-worst-of-each-parent-i-have-my-father-s/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Moral spontaneity" corresponds entirely with "religious and orthodox philosophy", "constitutional monarchy", "the Christian state", "freedom with certain limits", or in a figure, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/moral-spontaneity-corresponds-entirely-with-religious-and-orthodox/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [“Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. The truth was in the everything that came after atheism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/ideas-like-cosmic-justice-collective-hope-and-national-redemption-had/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The amorality of nature is accepted, whether it takes the form of a monsoon, an elephant in musth, or a disease; but being subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-amorality-of-nature-is-accepted-whether-it-takes-the-form-of-a/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“A conscience is a self-reproaching program that is installed in us, not by nature, but by our culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-conscience-is-a-self-reproaching-program-that-is-installed-in-us/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“She leaned back in her chair and raised her face to the sun, mildly intoxicated, not so much by the wine as by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/she-leaned-back-in-her-chair-and-raised-her-face-to-the-sun-mildly/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [In short, what the living wage is really about is not living standards, or even economics, but morality. Its advocates are basically opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/in-short-what-the-living-wage-is-really-about-is-not-living-standards/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) [Browse all 29 Amorality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit to any norm, you have, nolens volens , to submit to the norm of denying all morality, and this is not amoral, but immoral. 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