--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What were they thinking?' we ask about…" description: "\"“What were they thinking?' we ask about our ancestors, but we know that, a century hence, our descendents will ask the same thing about us. Who knows w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_doing-things_what-were-they-thinking-we-ask-about-our_2044223.jpg" --- # What were they thinking?' we ask about our ancestors, but… ![“What were they thinking?' we ask about our ancestors, but we know that, a century hence, our descendents will ask the same thing about us. Who knows what will strike them as strangest? The United States incarcerates 1 percent of its population and subjects many thousands of inmates to years of…” quote by Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_doing-things_what-were-they-thinking-we-ask-about-our_2044223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_doing-things_what-were-they-thinking-we-ask-about-our_2044223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/kwame-anthony-appiah-25090_doing-things_what-were-they-thinking-we-ask-about-our_2044223.jpg) > ““What were they thinking?' we ask about our ancestors, but we know that, a century hence, our descendents will ask the same thing about us. Who knows what will strike them as strangest? The United States incarcerates 1 percent of its population and subjects many thousands of inmates to years of solitary confinement. In Saudi Arabia, women are forbidden to drive. There are countries today in which homosexuality is punishable by life in prison or by death. Then there's the sequestered reality of factory farming, in which hundreds of millions of mammals, and billions of birds, live a squalid brief existence. Or the toleration of extreme poverty, inside and outside the developed world. One day, people will find themselves thinking not just that an old practice was wrong and a new one right but that there was something shameful in the old ways. In the course of the transition, many will change what they do because they are shamed out of an old way of doing things. So it is perhaps not too much to hope that if we can find the proper place for honor now, we can make the world better.”” [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Appiah reflects that future generations will judge our current practices as strange, urging us to anticipate moral progress and act honorably now to improve the world. **In simple terms:** Future people will find our habits odd; act honorably today. Key Takeaway Consider how present actions will be judged tomorrow. Themes ethics historical perspective social change Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - activism - personal conduct Key Concepts moral evolution cultural relativism Questions to Reflect On - What practices today might future generations deem unethical? - How can we balance cultural respect with moral progress? A Different Perspective Changing norms may face resistance and unintended consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Factory farming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factory-farming/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Old ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-ways/) [Solitary confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary-confinement/) ## Related quotes > [The U.S. incarcerates more of its people than any nation in the world, or any nation in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-u-s-incarcerates-more-of-its-people-than-any-nation-in-the-world/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“ Escherichia colia O157:H7 is a relatively new strain of the common intestinal bacteria (no one had seen it before 1980) that thrives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/escherichia-colia-o157-h7-is-a-relatively-new-strain-of-the-common/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I became a vegetarian after I became aware of factory farming and slaughterhouses and the torture and inhumane handling of all these animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-nealon/i-became-a-vegetarian-after-i-became-aware-of-factory-farming-and/) [Kevin Nealon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-nealon/) > [China is now urging citizens to eat less meat. Factory farming comes with immense costs to a society, and Chinese leaders are starting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/china-is-now-urging-citizens-to-eat-less-meat-factory-farming-comes/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Ninety-nine percent of all land animals eaten or used to produce milk and eggs in the United States are factory farmed. So although there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/ninety-nine-percent-of-all-land-animals-eaten-or-used-to-produce-milk/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I try so hard to be tolerant of everyone and their choices, but people who harm pets or support factory farming have an enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/i-try-so-hard-to-be-tolerant-of-everyone-and-their-choices-but-people/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) > [An environmentalist can oppose factory farming because it's reckless stewardship. A conservative can oppose factory farming because it is destructive to small farmers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/an-environmentalist-can-oppose-factory-farming-because-it-s-reckless/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/in-an-earlier-stage-of-our-development-most-human-groups-held-to-a/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“As with any violent ideology, the populace must be shielded from direct exposure to the victims of the system, lest they begin questioning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-joy/as-with-any-violent-ideology-the-populace-must-be-shielded-from/) [Melanie Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-joy/) > [Factory farming, like comparable evils throughout history, depends for its existence upon concealment. It depends on people either not noticing or willfully averting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/factory-farming-like-comparable-evils-throughout-history-depends-for/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [I don't like to see animals in pain. That was very uncomfortable to me. I don't like factory farming. I'm not an advocate for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-don-t-like-to-see-animals-in-pain-that-was-very-uncomfortable-to-me/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [“If you eat animals, you don't love animals; you love to eat them." - Andrew Kirschner, Ed.D.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-kirschner-ed-d/if-you-eat-animals-you-don-t-love-animals-you-love-to-eat-them-andrew/) Andrew Kirschner Ed.D > [“To identify with others is to see something of yourself in them and to see something of them in yourself--even if the only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-joy/to-identify-with-others-is-to-see-something-of-yourself-in-them-and/) [Melanie Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-joy/) > [So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-coates/so-then-man-tortures-and-kills-millions-more-animals-to-look-for/) David C. Coates > [“Rationally, factory farming is so obviously wrong, in so many ways. In all of my reading and conversations, I’ve yet to find a credible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/rationally-factory-farming-is-so-obviously-wrong-in-so-many-ways-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## More by Kwame Anthony Appiah > [There are many people of cosmopolitan temperament who are not from the elites of their societies or the world; and while, for a variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/there-are-many-people-of-cosmopolitan-temperament-who-are-not-from/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Cosmopolitans begin, I think, with a sense of one thing we all certainly share, which is our fallibility. Nobody has reason to be confident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/cosmopolitans-begin-i-think-with-a-sense-of-one-thing-we-all/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [In life, the challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game; the challenge is to figure out what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/in-life-the-challenge-is-not-so-much-to-figure-out-how-best-to-play/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Conversation doesn’t have to lead to consensus about anything especially not values; it’s enough that it helps people get used to one another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/conversation-doesn-t-have-to-lead-to-consensus-about-anything/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [“It's important to understand that while honor is an entitlement to respect--and shame comes when you lose that title--a person of honor cares first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/it-s-important-to-understand-that-while-honor-is-an-entitlement-to/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [A value is like a fax machine: it’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/a-value-is-like-a-fax-machine-it-s-not-much-use-if-you-re-the-only/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I've long had the idea that the factors that are most important in determining what we believe, how we live, and what we accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-ve-long-had-the-idea-that-the-factors-that-are-most-important-in/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [When philosophers talk about reason they often have in mind Having been in the business of philosophy more than half my life, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/when-philosophers-talk-about-reason-they-often-have-in-mind-having/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I started philosophy looking for answers. But along the way I came to prize exploring the questions. Progress in philosophy consists, I think, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-started-philosophy-looking-for-answers-but-along-the-way-i-came-to/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [“This is, of course, an easy Berlinian riposte. Start with some graceful hand waving about incommensurability; declare that nothing could reconcile these great goods;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/this-is-of-course-an-easy-berlinian-riposte-start-with-some-graceful/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [Conversations...begin with the sort of imaginative engagement you get when you read a novel or watch a movie or attend to a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/conversations-begin-with-the-sort-of-imaginative-engagement-you-get/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [I favor a form of cosmopolitanism that takes nations very seriously, particularly because of the role of national law in sustaining or, unfortunately, undermining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/i-favor-a-form-of-cosmopolitanism-that-takes-nations-very-seriously/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [The phrase 'academic freedom' is often used carelessly: here is a work that will allow a more careful conversation about those many crucial issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/the-phrase-academic-freedom-is-often-used-carelessly-here-is-a-work/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [The challenge, then, is to take minds and hearts formed over the long millennia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/the-challenge-then-is-to-take-minds-and-hearts-formed-over-the-long/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) > [We can't literally talk with everybody else on the planet or even with representatives of every group. But we can be in favor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-anthony-appiah/we-can-t-literally-talk-with-everybody-else-on-the-planet-or-even/) [Kwame Anthony Appiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) [Explore all 23 Kwame Anthony Appiah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-anthony-appiah/) ## More Doing things quotes > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [“Standards are just the most accepted ways of doing things. 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But we are really not encouragers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-those-that-say-if-you-do-the-uncomfortable-thing-long/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-m-closer-to-being-happy-i-m-doing-things-that-make-me-happy-in/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [“If you aren't in love, Willow Vaughn, then my name isn't Miriam Brigham." Willow started out of her daydreaming and glanced up from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mcpherren/if-you-aren-t-in-love-willow-vaughn-then-my-name-isn-t-miriam-brigham/) [Charlotte McPherren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mcpherren/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. 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