--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have nothing against respecting people…" description: "\"I have nothing against respecting people who lived before, but we have no responsibility toward them.\" — Leon Kass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg" --- # I have nothing against respecting people who lived before… ![“I have nothing against respecting people who lived before, but we have no responsibility toward them.” quote by Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg) > “I have nothing against respecting people who lived before, but we have no responsibility toward them.” [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We respect ancestors but have no duty to act for them. **In simple terms:** Respect ancestors, no duty to them. Key Takeaway Focus on present responsibilities. Themes respect historical duty ethics legacy Mood analytical contemplative Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - policy making - education - family traditions Key Concepts moral philosophy intergenerational ethics Questions to Reflect On - What obligations do we have to history? - How does past shape present? A Different Perspective Ignoring past can repeat mistakes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lived Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-responsibility-2016351/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lived/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting/) [Respecting People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting-people-419209/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just trying to stay positive, man, and help as many people as I can. Cuz if you don't help people when you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boosie/i-m-just-trying-to-stay-positive-man-and-help-as-many-people-as-i-can/) [Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boosie/) > [I respect all religions, but I'm not a deeply religious person. But I try and live life in the right way, respecting other people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckham/i-respect-all-religions-but-i-m-not-a-deeply-religious-person-but-i/) [David Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckham/) > [I would actually say to all the parents to tell their children to start respecting people. And, automatically when you start respecting people, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyamani/i-would-actually-say-to-all-the-parents-to-tell-their-children-to/) [Priyamani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyamani/) > [“I merely repeat the old joke. ‘It’s about respecting other people’s property. I make it my property so that I can properly respect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannu-rajaniemi/i-merely-repeat-the-old-joke-it-s-about-respecting-other-people-s/) [Hannu Rajaniemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannu-rajaniemi/) > [We in Tunisia have no problem with respecting other people's religion, and we have a long tradition of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashid-al-ghannushi/we-in-tunisia-have-no-problem-with-respecting-other-people-s-religion/) [Rashid al-Ghannushi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashid-al-ghannushi/) > [Respecting other people's cultures is well and good, but I draw the line at where some branches of Islam, what they do to women.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/respecting-other-people-s-cultures-is-well-and-good-but-i-draw-the/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [“Respecting people is my default state of mind. But if there is a man does the otherwise to me, I'll make him understand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/respecting-people-is-my-default-state-of-mind-but-if-there-is-a-man/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Self-respecting people do not care to peep at their reflections in unexpected mirrors, or to see themselves as others see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/self-respecting-people-do-not-care-to-peep-at-their-reflections-in/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Respecting people is an important part of life, whether it's the person doing janitorial work or the person above you. It doesn't matter who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-reid/respecting-people-is-an-important-part-of-life-whether-it-s-the/) [Andy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-reid/) > [I feel like I'm man of the people: meeting people, respecting people and accepting people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/i-feel-like-i-m-man-of-the-people-meeting-people-respecting-people/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [“And part of being American is respecting all people's right to be whatever they want to be and at the same time respecting your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/and-part-of-being-american-is-respecting-all-people-s-right-to-be/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [“We nurture our own being by respecting all people and consciously working to mitigate the pain of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/we-nurture-our-own-being-by-respecting-all-people-and-consciously/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [My colleagues and I are of that generation of young men who went through the Second World War and the Japanese Occupation and emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/my-colleagues-and-i-are-of-that-generation-of-young-men-who-went/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Our Party's policies of respecting the people and loving them and the people's hearty loyalty of trusting and following the Party as they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-un/our-party-s-policies-of-respecting-the-people-and-loving-them-and-the/) [Kim Jong-un](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-un/) > [I certainly am not alone in the world with this demand; I am in the best of company. Let it be said that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-certainly-am-not-alone-in-the-world-with-this-demand-i-am-in-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) ## More by Leon Kass > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-so-called-right-to-reproduce-is-not-an-unlimited-right/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I don't believe that efforts to prohibit only so-called reproductive cloning can be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-don-t-believe-that-efforts-to-prohibit-only-so-called-reproductive/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Many other countries have already banned human cloning, and there are efforts at the UN to make such a ban universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/many-other-countries-have-already-banned-human-cloning-and-there-are/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [We may simply not be wise enough to do some of the kinds of engineering things that people are talking about doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/we-may-simply-not-be-wise-enough-to-do-some-of-the-kinds-of/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The technical is not just the machinery. The technical is a disposition to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-technical-is-not-just-the-machinery-the-technical-is-a/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I've been opposed to human cloning from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-ve-been-opposed-to-human-cloning-from-the-very-beginning/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Genetics is crude, but neuroscience goes directly to work on the brain, and the mind follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/genetics-is-crude-but-neuroscience-goes-directly-to-work-on-the-brain/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/cloning-represents-a-very-clear-powerful-and-immediate-example-in/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Human life without death would be something other than human; consciousness of mortality gives rise to out deepest longings and greatest accomplishments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/human-life-without-death-would-be-something-other-than-human/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [If you have easy self-contentment, you might have a very, very cheap source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/if-you-have-easy-self-contentment-you-might-have-a-very-very-cheap/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [It's a short step from the belief that every child should be wanted to the belief that a child exists to satisfy our wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/it-s-a-short-step-from-the-belief-that-every-child-should-be-wanted/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [My job is to provide the president with the richest possible consideration, so that he knows what is at stake in whatever decision he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/my-job-is-to-provide-the-president-with-the-richest-possible/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [In cloning, in contrast, reproduction is asexual - the cloned child is the product not of two but of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/in-cloning-in-contrast-reproduction-is-asexual-the-cloned-child-is/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [There were certain questions about the foundations of morals that advances in science all threaten to make more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/there-were-certain-questions-about-the-foundations-of-morals-that/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) [Explore all 52 Leon Kass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## More People quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) [Browse all 211,607 People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have nothing against respecting people who lived before, but we have no responsibility toward them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leon Kass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people-who-lived-before-but-we-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people-who-lived-before-but-we-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea8/leon-kass-12927_people_i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people_1799161.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have nothing against respecting people who lived before, but we have no responsibility toward them.” — Leon Kass", "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": "Leon Kass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have nothing against respecting people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people-who-lived-before-but-we-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-have-nothing-against-respecting-people-who-lived-before-but-we-have/#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 } } ] } ```