--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Society needs both justice and…" description: "\"Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.\" — Julian Baggini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png" --- # Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a… ![“Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.” quote by Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png) > “Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.” [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A balanced society requires both fair enforcement of rules and empathy, integrating rational judgment with emotional understanding. **In simple terms:** Society needs both law and kindness. Key Takeaway Promote policies that blend fairness with empathy. Themes justice compassion civilization ethics balance Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical ethical social When to use this quote - policy making - community building - legal reform - education programs Key Concepts social contract theory human rights moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Can a society be just without compassion? - How can compassion be measured in law? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one can lead to rigidity or moral relativism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ## Related quotes > [It is not always easy to balance freedom of expression with the needs of the justice system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/it-is-not-always-easy-to-balance-freedom-of-expression-with-the-needs/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [Social justice and compassion are compatible with an intelligent respect for private enterprise and law and order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/social-justice-and-compassion-are-compatible-with-an-intelligent/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [We can prevent many people from becoming terrorists by truly listening to people who feel they've been treated unjustly and responding to their concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coretta-scott-king/we-can-prevent-many-people-from-becoming-terrorists-by-truly/) [Coretta Scott King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coretta-scott-king/) > [“I crossed the line.” “The line shifts.” Now he gave those shoulders a quick, impatient shake. “If the law, if justice has no compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/i-crossed-the-line-the-line-shifts-now-he-gave-those-shoulders-a/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [It was reasonable to struggle, to suffer, perhaps even to die, for a more just, a more compassionate society, but not in a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-reasonable-to-struggle-to-suffer-perhaps-even-to-die-for-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Justice without compassion is but tyranny”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-c-rossis/justice-without-compassion-is-but-tyranny/) [Nicholas C. Rossis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-c-rossis/) > [In spiritual maturity, the opposite of injustice is not justice but compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joko-beck/in-spiritual-maturity-the-opposite-of-injustice-is-not-justice-but/) [Joko Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joko-beck/) > [“Justice without compassion isn't justice; it's an abattoir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/justice-without-compassion-isn-t-justice-it-s-an-abattoir/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Power is violence, its promise, its deed. Power cares nothing for reason, nothing for justice, nothing for compassion. It is, in fact, the singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/power-is-violence-its-promise-its-deed-power-cares-nothing-for-reason/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [I remain dedicated to advocating for policies that uphold our values of justice and compassion as we actively address border challenges at the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/i-remain-dedicated-to-advocating-for-policies-that-uphold-our-values/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [“The phrase "consumer society" complements the description of the present social order as an "industrial society." Needs are tailored by the mass media to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-phrase-consumer-society-complements-the-description-of-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Each of us is a being in himself and a being in society, each of us needs to understand himself and understand others, take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haniel-long/each-of-us-is-a-being-in-himself-and-a-being-in-society-each-of-us/) [Haniel Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haniel-long/) > [In society one needs a flexible virtue; too much goodness can be blamable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/in-society-one-needs-a-flexible-virtue-too-much-goodness-can-be/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [The Egyptian society needs to include its women if it wants to have economic prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/the-egyptian-society-needs-to-include-its-women-if-it-wants-to-have/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) > [Society needs people who can manage projects in addition to handling individual tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-vos-savant/society-needs-people-who-can-manage-projects-in-addition-to-handling/) [Marilyn vos Savant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-vos-savant/) ## More by Julian Baggini > [I don't think there is ever a direct connection between the philosophical community and the wider populus. I'm very aware of this because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/i-don-t-think-there-is-ever-a-direct-connection-between-the/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [I don't feel proprietorial about the problems of philosophy. History has taught us that many philosophical issues can grow up, leave home and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/i-don-t-feel-proprietorial-about-the-problems-of-philosophy-history/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [True respect means taking other people's beliefs seriously and assuming they are adult and intelligent enough to be able to cope with it if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/true-respect-means-taking-other-people-s-beliefs-seriously-and/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [We do wrong willfully when we fail to think hard about whether what we're doing is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/we-do-wrong-willfully-when-we-fail-to-think-hard-about-whether-what/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [It may not have the virtuous ring of the golden rule, but the maxim 'never say never' is one of the most important in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/it-may-not-have-the-virtuous-ring-of-the-golden-rule-but-the-maxim/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [I'm not one of these people who is sour about academia. I'm very lucky not to be in academia, but I am an absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/i-m-not-one-of-these-people-who-is-sour-about-academia-i-m-very-lucky/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“Working out whether or not the claims you make in your premises are true, while important, is simply not enough to ensure that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/working-out-whether-or-not-the-claims-you-make-in-your-premises-are/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Real life is about accepting ups and downs, the good and the bad, the possibility of failure as well as the ambition to succeed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/real-life-is-about-accepting-ups-and-downs-the-good-and-the-bad-the/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“Philosophy without criticism is like hunting deer without a shotgun, so, if you want people to like you, avoid robust philosophical debate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/philosophy-without-criticism-is-like-hunting-deer-without-a-shotgun/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Looking out over the port of Dover, with the endless steam of boats coming in and out, every British citizen is reminded that belonging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/looking-out-over-the-port-of-dover-with-the-endless-steam-of-boats/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [If you believe you are right, then you should believe that you can make the case that you're right. This requires you to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/if-you-believe-you-are-right-then-you-should-believe-that-you-can/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“You know what a word means when you know how to use it, not what its definition is. That is why we can understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/you-know-what-a-word-means-when-you-know-how-to-use-it-not-what-its/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [Daily life is better when it involves interactions with real people who have a personal investment in their labour, like shopkeepers, than it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/daily-life-is-better-when-it-involves-interactions-with-real-people/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“the meaning of life is not some kind of answer, which, once learned, is forever possessed. For life to stay meaningful it must continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/the-meaning-of-life-is-not-some-kind-of-answer-which-once-learned-is/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) [Explore all 140 Julian Baggini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) ## More Civilised quotes > [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [When we get civilised, I believe children will go by number until they get old enough to choose their own names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/when-we-get-civilised-i-believe-children-will-go-by-number-until-they/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [This extraordinary metal, the soul of every manufacture, and the mainspring perhaps of civilised society. Of iron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/this-extraordinary-metal-the-soul-of-every-manufacture-and-the/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The civilised cultures are the most cruel. It's the same with education - often it breeds sadistic forms of cruelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/the-civilised-cultures-are-the-most-cruel-it-s-the-same-with/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-st-barbe-baker/this-generation-may-either-be-the-last-to-exist-in-any-semblance-of-a/) [Richard St. Barbe Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-st-barbe-baker/) > [Bombing is not especially inhumane. War itself is inhumane and the bombing plane, which is used to paralyse industry and transport, is a relatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/bombing-is-not-especially-inhumane-war-itself-is-inhumane-and-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I suffered most inconvenience from the difficulty of getting news from the civilised world down river, from the irregularity of receipt of letters, parcels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-walter-bates/i-suffered-most-inconvenience-from-the-difficulty-of-getting-news/) [Henry Walter Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-walter-bates/) > [Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and poetry, may truly be called the efflorescence of civilised life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/architecture-sculpture-painting-music-and-poetry-may-truly-be-called/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [You get the feeling that many of my guests feel that the French language gives them entry into a more cultivated, more intelligent world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-pivot/you-get-the-feeling-that-many-of-my-guests-feel-that-the-french/) [Bernard Pivot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-pivot/) > [All civilised countries should unite in the fight against international terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/all-civilised-countries-should-unite-in-the-fight-against/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The true savage is a slave, and is always talking about what he must do; the true civilised man is a free man, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-true-savage-is-a-slave-and-is-always-talking-about-what-he-must/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The point about zero is that we do not need to use it in the operations of daily life. No one goes out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-point-about-zero-is-that-we-do-not-need-to-use-it-in-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Sex is probably one of the last forms of human expression to enjoy such a direct connection with nature. It might be the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-koerfer/sex-is-probably-one-of-the-last-forms-of-human-expression-to-enjoy/) [Thomas Koerfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-koerfer/) Browse all 122 Civilised quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julian Baggini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/society-needs-both-justice-and-compassion-a-head-and-a-heart-if-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilised" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/society-needs-both-justice-and-compassion-a-head-and-a-heart-if-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/julian-baggini-3081_civilised_society-needs-both-justice-and-compassio_3212797.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.” — Julian Baggini", "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": "Julian Baggini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Society needs both justice and compassion,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/society-needs-both-justice-and-compassion-a-head-and-a-heart-if-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/society-needs-both-justice-and-compassion-a-head-and-a-heart-if-it-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 } } ] } ```