--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ethics are not necessarily to do with…" description: "\"Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.\" — Kate Atkinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg" --- # Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I… ![“Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg) > “Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ethics involve moral choices beyond legal compliance, focusing on doing what is right. **In simple terms:** Morality goes beyond law. Key Takeaway Prioritize moral integrity over mere legality. Themes ethics morality law integrity Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decisions - professional conduct - public policy - community leadership Key Concepts ethical philosophy moral reasoning Questions to Reflect On - How do you resolve conflicts between law and morality? - What guides your moral decisions? A Different Perspective Legal compliance does not guarantee ethical behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doing the right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-the-right-thing/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) ## Related quotes > [For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/for-me-one-of-the-most-disturbing-elements-of-the-right-wing-s/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [A very tall man once asked a question after my talk. Before beginning his question, he explained that the reason he was standing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/a-very-tall-man-once-asked-a-question-after-my-talk-before-beginning/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [Blatant attempts to attack a constitutionally guaranteed right and a law-abiding industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bishop/blatant-attempts-to-attack-a-constitutionally-guaranteed-right-and-a/) [Rob Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bishop/) > [ You know what the \[Barack\] Obama administration keeps getting wrong is whenever anything bad happens they focus on law-abiding citizens instead of focusing on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/you-know-what-the-barack-obama-administration-keeps-getting-wrong-is/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [“One legislator accused me of having a 19th-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an 18th-century attitude.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-legislator-accused-me-of-having-a-19th-century-attitude-on-law/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is simply no room for anti-Semitism in a democratic and law-abiding state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksander-kwasniewski/there-is-simply-no-room-for-anti-semitism-in-a-democratic-and-law/) [Aleksander Kwasniewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksander-kwasniewski/) > [“The one thing our nation needs desperately is law-abiding citizens, not just those who abide by human laws but those who abide by divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pawson/the-one-thing-our-nation-needs-desperately-is-law-abiding-citizens/) [David Pawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pawson/) > [I am pathetically law-abiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/i-am-pathetically-law-abiding/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [A satyagrahi is nothing if not instinctively law-abiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-satyagrahi-is-nothing-if-not-instinctively-law-abiding/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [For most people, the question why be good - as distinguished from merely law abiding - is a simple one. Because God commands it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/for-most-people-the-question-why-be-good-as-distinguished-from-merely/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [“Unconditional love is like a country of two with no laws and no government. Which is all fine if everyone is peaceful and law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/unconditional-love-is-like-a-country-of-two-with-no-laws-and-no/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [I say the phone records of law abiding citizens are none of their damn business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-say-the-phone-records-of-law-abiding-citizens-are-none-of-their/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I'M FEARFUL because in the back of my mind I know that although I'm a law abiding citizen I could still be looked upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-watson/i-m-fearful-because-in-the-back-of-my-mind-i-know-that-although-i-m-a/) [Benjamin Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-watson/) > [All the research shows that being married, with all its ups and downs, is by far the most effective way of making young men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-mount/all-the-research-shows-that-being-married-with-all-its-ups-and-downs/) [Ferdinand Mount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-mount/) > [Law-abiding Americans deserve to know that their government will not secretly tap their phones, read their medical records, access their library accounts or otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-neas/law-abiding-americans-deserve-to-know-that-their-government-will-not/) Ralph Neas ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“He had made a vow, a private promise to the world in the long dark watches of the night, that if he did survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-made-a-vow-a-private-promise-to-the-world-in-the-long-dark/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“When she was little they had lived in an old farmhouse too, in the middle of nothing of but landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-she-was-little-they-had-lived-in-an-old-farmhouse-too-in-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Do you keep time in the same place that you save it? If so why is it always so difficult to find? It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/do-you-keep-time-in-the-same-place-that-you-save-it-if-so-why-is-it/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was on the verge of something numinous and profound and in one more second the universe was going to crack open and arcana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-was-on-the-verge-of-something-numinous-and-profound-and-in-one-more/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I feel as if I’m waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then I realize it already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-feel-as-if-i-m-waiting-for-something-dreadful-to-happen-and-then-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“If she had been in charge of designing the human race she would have gone about things differently. (A golden shaft of light through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/if-she-had-been-in-charge-of-designing-the-human-race-she-would-have/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-beginning-is-the-word-and-the-end-is-silence-and-in-between-are/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to spoil the magic, but it's a very curious thing that honestly baffles me. It's the nearest we'll ever get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-don-t-want-to-spoil-the-magic-but-it-s-a-very-curious-thing-that/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“What did science ever do for the world, apart from make better ways of killing people?” Sylvie said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-science-ever-do-for-the-world-apart-from-make-better-ways-of/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/misquote-edmund-burke-rather-than-milton-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Explore all 261 Kate Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More Abiding quotes > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I think that there is just a deep and abiding sexism that's part of your life from the moment that you're conscious as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-w-garcia/i-think-that-there-is-just-a-deep-and-abiding-sexism-that-s-part-of/) [Liz W. Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-w-garcia/) > [Faith is the capacity of the soul to perceive the abiding, the invisible in the visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-baeck/faith-is-the-capacity-of-the-soul-to-perceive-the-abiding-the/) [Leo Baeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-baeck/) > [I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it's important for us to recognize that we've got a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-we-have-two-conflicting-traditions-in-this-country-i-think-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [A wicked mortal is not the idea of God. He is little else than the expression of error. To suppose that sin, lust, hatred,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-baker-eddy/a-wicked-mortal-is-not-the-idea-of-god-he-is-little-else-than-the/) [Mary Baker Eddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-baker-eddy/) > [When the penalty for a policeman's mistake is to put a criminal back out on the street, then we are hurting America; we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/when-the-penalty-for-a-policeman-s-mistake-is-to-put-a-criminal-back/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [The value of a dollar is to buy just things; a dollar goes on increasing in value with all the genius and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-value-of-a-dollar-is-to-buy-just-things-a-dollar-goes-on/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-aims-of-these-three-groups-are-entirely-irreconcilable-the-aim-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) Alan Gottlieb > [When you defile the pleasant streams, And the wild bird's abiding place, You massacre a million dreams, And cast your spittle in God's face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/when-you-defile-the-pleasant-streams-and-the-wild-bird-s-abiding/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [How can we hope to retain our freedom through the generations if we fail to teach our young that our liberty springs from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-falwell/how-can-we-hope-to-retain-our-freedom-through-the-generations-if-we/) [Jonathan Falwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-falwell/) > [Love and friendship, two of life's abiding rewards, are endangered species in Hollywood. People crave both, mistaking alliance for friendship, lust for love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-obst/love-and-friendship-two-of-life-s-abiding-rewards-are-endangered/) [Lynda Obst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-obst/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I sometimes forget that life is fragile. The fact that I have more time to dream my dreams and take my ease is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/i-sometimes-forget-that-life-is-fragile-the-fact-that-i-have-more/) [Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/) Browse all 387 Abiding quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-being-law-abiding-i-am-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abiding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-being-law-abiding-i-am-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/kate-atkinson-1265_abiding_ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-be_1454061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the…” — Kate Atkinson", "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": "Kate Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ethics are not necessarily to do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-being-law-abiding-i-am-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/ethics-are-not-necessarily-to-do-with-being-law-abiding-i-am-very/#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 } } ] } ```