--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't have good without evil…" description: "\"You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain, and so on.\" — Ken Wilber" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg" --- # You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain… ![“You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain, and so on.” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg) > “You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain, and so on.” [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good and evil, pleasure and pain are interdependent; one defines the other. **In simple terms:** Opposites define each other. Key Takeaway Accept duality as part of existence. Themes duality balance philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - moral decision making - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts integral theory ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing duality affect your choices? - Can you find harmony beyond opposites? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on duality may ignore nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Without pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-pain/) ## Related quotes > [Consider the problem from the point of view of evil, evil being almost always pleasure's true and major charm; considered thus, the crime must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/consider-the-problem-from-the-point-of-view-of-evil-evil-being-almost/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [If you pursue good with labor, the labor passes away but the good remains; if you pursue evil with pleasure, the pleasure passes away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/if-you-pursue-good-with-labor-the-labor-passes-away-but-the-good/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I have learned there is no joy without hardship. There is no pleasure without pain. Would we know the comfort of peace without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/i-have-learned-there-is-no-joy-without-hardship-there-is-no-pleasure/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [Pleasures, riches, honor and joy are sure to have care, disgrace, adversity and affliction in their train. There is no pleasure without pain, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/pleasures-riches-honor-and-joy-are-sure-to-have-care-disgrace/) [Gotthold Ephraim Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotthold-ephraim-lessing/) > [You will never understand pleasure without pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/you-will-never-understand-pleasure-without-pain/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [“There is no pleasure without pain. There is no Heaven without Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/there-is-no-pleasure-without-pain-there-is-no-heaven-without-hell/) [Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/) > [Nature is about balance. All the world comes in pairs - Yin and Yang, right and wrong, men and women; whats pleasure without pain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/nature-is-about-balance-all-the-world-comes-in-pairs-yin-and-yang/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [For pain is perhaps but a violent pleasure? Who could determine the point where pleasure becomes pain, where pain is still a pleasure? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/for-pain-is-perhaps-but-a-violent-pleasure-who-could-determine-the/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [If your life is based around your being comfortable, you're not very comfortable. You suffer quite a bit - becuase in the realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-your-life-is-based-around-your-being-comfortable-you-re-not-very/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That's way I call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/the-only-way-to-be-a-champion-is-by-going-through-these-forced-reps/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [Theres a very fine line between pleasure and pain. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/50-shdes-of-grey/theres-a-very-fine-line-between-pleasure-and-pain-they-are-two-sides/) 50 Shdes Of Grey > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“I am now going to make an admission. I confess, I agree, that all these good people who protested, who laughed, who did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/i-am-now-going-to-make-an-admission-i-confess-i-agree-that-all-these/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Ken Wilber > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If Spirit has any meaning, it must be omnipresent, or all-pervading and all-encompassing. There can't be a place where Spirit is not, or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-spirit-has-any-meaning-it-must-be-omnipresent-or-all-pervading-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Evolution occurs in the world of time and space and form, whereas Spirit's primordial nature is finally timeless and Formless, prior to the of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/evolution-occurs-in-the-world-of-time-and-space-and-form-whereas/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The most striking feature of the perennial philosophy/psychology is that it presents being and consciousness as a hierarchy of dimensional levels, moving from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-most-striking-feature-of-the-perennial-philosophy-psychology-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Is this a topic whose time has truly come? The integration of science and religion? Or have I just written a clever book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/is-this-a-topic-whose-time-has-truly-come-the-integration-of-science/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality... does not render the self content, it renders it undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-does-not-render-the-self-content-it-renders-it/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Conscious means "having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; mentally perceptive, awake, mindful." So "conscious business" might mean, engaging in an occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/conscious-means-having-an-awareness-of-one-s-inner-and-outer-worlds/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I believe that evidence shows that there is a real spirit, a real Beach, but it is beneath no pavement whatsoever, for all pavements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/i-believe-that-evidence-shows-that-there-is-a-real-spirit-a-real/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Furthermore, it is not that Spirit is present but you need to be enlightened in order to see it. It is not that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/furthermore-it-is-not-that-spirit-is-present-but-you-need-to-be/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-is-revolutionary-it-does-not-legitimate-the/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [Matter begins evolving back to Spirit and, when it's reached, the whole process begins over again for the billionth time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/matter-begins-evolving-back-to-spirit-and-when-it-s-reached-the-whole/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) [Explore all 200 Ken Wilber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## 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": "You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain, and so on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Wilber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasure-without-pain-and-so-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasure-without-pain-and-so-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/ken-wilber-1886_evil_you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasur_1648430.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't have good without evil, pleasure without pain, and so on.” — Ken Wilber", "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": "Ken Wilber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't have good without evil,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasure-without-pain-and-so-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/you-can-t-have-good-without-evil-pleasure-without-pain-and-so-on/#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 } } ] } ```