--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is convention and arbitrary rewards…" description: "\"It is convention and arbitrary rewards which make all the merit and demerit of what we call vice and virtue.\" — Julien Offray de La Mettrie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie-34_arbitrary_it-is-convention-and-arbitrary-rewards-w_1691717.png" --- # It is convention and arbitrary rewards which make all the… ![“It is convention and arbitrary rewards which make all the merit and demerit of what we call vice and virtue.” quote by Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie-34_arbitrary_it-is-convention-and-arbitrary-rewards-w_1691717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie-34_arbitrary_it-is-convention-and-arbitrary-rewards-w_1691717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie-34_arbitrary_it-is-convention-and-arbitrary-rewards-w_1691717.png) > “It is convention and arbitrary rewards which make all the merit and demerit of what we call vice and virtue.” [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal norms and rewards shape our judgments of good and bad, rather than intrinsic moral truth. **In simple terms:** Rewards and conventions label actions as vice or virtue. Key Takeaway Question the basis of moral judgments. Themes morality social constructs ethics Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legal systems - personal decisions - cultural criticism - education policies Key Concepts conventionalism relativism Questions to Reflect On - What rewards influence your view of virtue? - Can virtue exist without external incentives? A Different Perspective Moral labels can be manipulated by changing rewards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arbitrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary/) [Arbitrary Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary-rewards-1062426/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Convention Arbitrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convention-arbitrary-1062427/) [Conventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions/) [Demerit Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demerit-vice-1062428/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Merit Demerit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit-demerit-1062429/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Vice and virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-and-virtue/) [Vice Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-virtue-264513/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Vice and virtue chiefly imply the relation of our actions to men in this world; sin and holiness rather imply their relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/vice-and-virtue-chiefly-imply-the-relation-of-our-actions-to-men-in/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [It takes a vice to check a vice, and virtue is the by-product of a stalemate between opposite vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-takes-a-vice-to-check-a-vice-and-virtue-is-the-by-product-of-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The extremes of vice and virtue are alike detestable, and absolute virtue is as sure to kill a man as absolute vice is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-extremes-of-vice-and-virtue-are-alike-detestable-and-absolute/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [There are some who write, talk, and think, so much about vice and virtue, that they have no time to practice either the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/there-are-some-who-write-talk-and-think-so-much-about-vice-and-virtue/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Vice, virtue - it's best not to be too moral. You'll cheat yourself out of too much life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-gordon/vice-virtue-it-s-best-not-to-be-too-moral-you-ll-cheat-yourself-out/) [Ruth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-gordon/) > [Our impartiality is kept for abstract merit and demerit, which none of us ever saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/our-impartiality-is-kept-for-abstract-merit-and-demerit-which-none-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The existence of law is one thing; its merit or demerit is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-austin/the-existence-of-law-is-one-thing-its-merit-or-demerit-is-another/) [John Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-austin/) > [Vice knows she is ugly, so puts on her mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/vice-knows-she-is-ugly-so-puts-on-her-mask/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [A vice is merely a pleasure to which somebody has objected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-skelton/a-vice-is-merely-a-pleasure-to-which-somebody-has-objected/) [Robin Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-skelton/) > [One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/one-isn-t-necessarily-born-with-courage-but-one-is-born-with-potential/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Yes, I laugh at all mankind, and the imposition that they dare to practice when they talk of hearts. I laugh at human passions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-robert-maturin/yes-i-laugh-at-all-mankind-and-the-imposition-that-they-dare-to/) [Charles Robert Maturin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-robert-maturin/) > [Virtue consists in avoiding scandal and venereal disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cecil-1st-earl-of-salisbury/virtue-consists-in-avoiding-scandal-and-venereal-disease/) [Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cecil-1st-earl-of-salisbury/) > [Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-courage-we-cannot-practice-any-other-virtue-with-consistency/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [It is not, perhaps, unreasonable to conclude, that a pure and perfect democracy is a thing not attainable by man, constituted as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fraser-tytler/it-is-not-perhaps-unreasonable-to-conclude-that-a-pure-and-perfect/) [Alexander Fraser Tytler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fraser-tytler/) > [Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/let-grace-and-goodness-be-the-principal-loadstone-of-thy-affections/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) ## More by Julien Offray de La Mettrie > [The English, who eat their meat red and bloody, show the savagery that goes with such food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/the-english-who-eat-their-meat-red-and-bloody-show-the-savagery-that/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Let us then submit to an invincible ignorance on which our happiness depends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/let-us-then-submit-to-an-invincible-ignorance-on-which-our-happiness/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Nothing is absolutely unjust. There is no real equity, no total grandeur, no pure vice, no absolute crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/nothing-is-absolutely-unjust-there-is-no-real-equity-no-total/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Everyone is born with psychic abilities. It's just a matter of knowing how to tap into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/everyone-is-born-with-psychic-abilities-it-s-just-a-matter-of-knowing/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Man is a machine and in the whole universe there is but a single substance, matter, variously modified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/man-is-a-machine-and-in-the-whole-universe-there-is-but-a-single/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [“Ihmisruumis on kone, joka vetää itse itsensä; se on alituisen liikkeen elävä kuva.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/ihmisruumis-on-kone-joka-vet-itse-itsens-se-on-alituisen-liikkeen-el/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [“Man is so complicated a machine that it is impossible to get a clear idea of the machine beforehand, and hence impossible to define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/man-is-so-complicated-a-machine-that-it-is-impossible-to-get-a-clear/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Therefore, since we may say, after such long experience, that religion does not imply exact honesty, we are authorized by the same reasons to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/therefore-since-we-may-say-after-such-long-experience-that-religion/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [The brain has muscles for thinking as the legs have muscles for walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/the-brain-has-muscles-for-thinking-as-the-legs-have-muscles-for/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [There is a special bond between twin soul mates - unconditional love, respect for each other, bringing out the best in each other, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/there-is-a-special-bond-between-twin-soul-mates-unconditional-love/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [The human body is a machine that winds up its own springs: it is a living image of the perpetual motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/the-human-body-is-a-machine-that-winds-up-its-own-springs-it-is-a/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [Who lives as a citizen, may write as a philosopher - but write as a philosopher, it is to teach materialism!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/who-lives-as-a-citizen-may-write-as-a-philosopher-but-write-as-a/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) [Explore all 13 Julien Offray de La Mettrie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) ## More Arbitrary quotes > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. 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Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. 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