--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are tainted by modern philosophy which…" description: "\"We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted everything and in a very real sense all is evil, si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg" --- # We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us… ![“We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted everything and in a very real sense all is evil, since nothing is in its proper place.” quote by Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg) > “We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted everything and in a very real sense all is evil, since nothing is in its proper place.” [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern philosophy claims all is good, but this view hides pervasive evil and disorder. **In simple terms:** Philosophy’s optimism ignores real evil. Key Takeaway Question idealistic assumptions. Themes philosophy ethics modernity order Mood critical contemplative Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - political discourse - academic debate - personal worldview Key Concepts optimism evil disorder human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you see evidence of pervasive evil today? - How does this view affect moral decisions? A Different Perspective Not all evil is visible; some argue good can coexist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Modern philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-philosophy/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, if you do sense evil, tell me. I shall be glad to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/well-if-you-do-sense-evil-tell-me-i-shall-be-glad-to-know/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“...For action has no sense. It merely binds one to existence. All existence, however, has no sense. Evil is interpreted as that which leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/for-action-has-no-sense-it-merely-binds-one-to-existence-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/everything-understood-by-the-term-co-operation-is-in-some-sense-an/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [“He who dreads death, dreads either an extinction of all sense, or dreads a different sort of sensation. If all sense is extinguished, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/he-who-dreads-death-dreads-either-an-extinction-of-all-sense-or/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-uther/have-you-ever-seen-an-enchantress-believe-me-they-bear-no-sign-no/) King Uther > [And since, in our passage through this world, painful circumstances occur more frequently than pleasing ones, and since our sense of evil is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/and-since-in-our-passage-through-this-world-painful-circumstances/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [The Frenchman Jean-PaulSartre ... had a dialectical mind good as a machine for cybernetics, immense in its way, he could peel a nuance like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/the-frenchman-jean-paulsartre-had-a-dialectical-mind-good-as-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/only-a-writer-who-has-the-sense-of-evil-can-make-goodness-readable/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [ However, I never thought that \[George W.\] Bush himself was, in any sense, "evil." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/however-i-never-thought-that-george-w-bush-himself-was-in-any-sense/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I think that we all know what evil is. We have a sense of what's evil, and certainly killing innocent people is evil. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-think-that-we-all-know-what-evil-is-we-have-a-sense-of-what-s-evil/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Love is the remedy for us but Evil cant fight love. Love makes no sense to evil and it therefore cant twist it round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-remedy-for-us-but-evil-cant-fight-love-love-makes-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Such is the strange situation in which modern philosophy finds itself. No former age was ever in such a favourable position with regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-cassirer/such-is-the-strange-situation-in-which-modern-philosophy-finds-itself/) [Ernst Cassirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-cassirer/) > [It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-actually-a-nice-question-how-far-descartes-himself-endorses-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [As modern physics started with the Newtonian revolution, so modern philosophy starts with what one might call the Cartesian Catastrophe. The catastrophe consisted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/as-modern-physics-started-with-the-newtonian-revolution-so-modern/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Ancient philosophy proposed to mankind an art of living. By contrast, modern philosophy appears above all as the construction of a technical jargon reserved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-hadot/ancient-philosophy-proposed-to-mankind-an-art-of-living-by-contrast/) [Pierre Hadot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-hadot/) ## More by Joseph de Maistre > [War is thus divine in itself, since it is a law of the world. War is divine through its consequences of a supernatural nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/war-is-thus-divine-in-itself-since-it-is-a-law-of-the-world-war-is/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Nothing is necessary except God, and nothing is less necessary than pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/nothing-is-necessary-except-god-and-nothing-is-less-necessary-than/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [It is not the mediocrity of women's education which makes their weakness; it is their weakness which necessarily causes their mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/it-is-not-the-mediocrity-of-women-s-education-which-makes-their/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [We are all bound to the throne of the Supreme Being by a flexible chain which restrains without enslaving us. The most wonderful aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-all-bound-to-the-throne-of-the-supreme-being-by-a-flexible/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [All pain is a punishment, and every punishment is inflicted for love as much as for justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/all-pain-is-a-punishment-and-every-punishment-is-inflicted-for-love/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Without doubt God is the universal moving force, but each being is moved according to the nature that God has given it. He directs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/without-doubt-god-is-the-universal-moving-force-but-each-being-is/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/man-is-insatiable-for-power-he-is-infantile-in-his-desires-and-always/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [A child is an angel dependent on man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/a-child-is-an-angel-dependent-on-man/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [“Thus is worked out, from maggots up to man, the universal law of the violent destruction of living beings. The whole earth, continually steeped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/thus-is-worked-out-from-maggots-up-to-man-the-universal-law-of-the/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [If there was no moral evil upon earth, there would be no physical evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/if-there-was-no-moral-evil-upon-earth-there-would-be-no-physical-evil/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Man is so muddled, so dependent on the things immediately before his eyes, that every day even the most submissive believer can be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/man-is-so-muddled-so-dependent-on-the-things-immediately-before-his/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [The concept of number is the obvious distinction between the beast and man. Thanks to number, the cry becomes a song, noise acquires rhythm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/the-concept-of-number-is-the-obvious-distinction-between-the-beast/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Every time that a man who is not an absolute fool presents you with a question he considers very problematic after giving it careful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/every-time-that-a-man-who-is-not-an-absolute-fool-presents-you-with-a/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Every country has the government it deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/every-country-has-the-government-it-deserves/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Genius does not seem to derive any great support from syllogisms. Its carriage is free; its manner has a touch of inspiration. We see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/genius-does-not-seem-to-derive-any-great-support-from-syllogisms-its/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) [Explore all 60 Joseph de Maistre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted everything and in a very real sense all is evil, since nothing is in its proper place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph de Maistre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-which-has-taught-us-that-all-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-which-has-taught-us-that-all-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/joseph-de-maistre-11359_evil_we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-whic_2363443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted…” — Joseph de Maistre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph de Maistre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are tainted by modern philosophy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-which-has-taught-us-that-all-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-which-has-taught-us-that-all-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```