--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [...]what we are talking about are…" description: "\"“[...]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.”\" — Mark Gibney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg" --- # \[...\]what we are talking about are negative… ![“[...]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.” quote by Mark Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg) > ““\[...\]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.”” Mark Gibney ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It asserts that moral duty includes refraining from causing harm, not just performing positive acts. **In simple terms:** Do not cause harm. Key Takeaway Avoid actions that hurt others. Themes ethics responsibility non‑maleficence Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - business decisions - medical treatment - environmental policy - personal relationships Key Concepts moral philosophy duty theory Questions to Reflect On - When might causing no harm be impossible? - How do you balance non‑harm with other duties? A Different Perspective Harmlessness may conflict with competing interests or required interventions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Obligations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligations/) ## Related quotes > [“When duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only accident or a series of accidents can balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/when-duty-a-cause-etc-is-the-fixed-point-the-latter-force-is/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Attention is our first duty whenever we want to know what is our second duty. There is no such cause of confusion and worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay-trumbull/attention-is-our-first-duty-whenever-we-want-to-know-what-is-our/) [Henry Clay Trumbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay-trumbull/) > [People say I'm that and that, They may destroy my image but no matter what, it cause no harm for me, because still some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/precious-pano/people-say-i-m-that-and-that-they-may-destroy-my-image-but-no-matter/) Precious Pano > [Generally speaking, books don't cause much harm. Except when you read them, that is. Then they cause all kinds of problems. Books can, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/generally-speaking-books-don-t-cause-much-harm-except-when-you-read-2/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [ Snowden has enough \[sic\] information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/snowden-has-enough-sic-information-to-cause-harm-to-the-u-s/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Whatever makes you happy and doesn't cause harm to another is what you should be doing. Just go on every single day. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-makes-you-happy-and-doesn-t-cause-harm-to-another-is-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Generally speaking, books don't cause much harm. Except when you read them, that is. Then they cause all kinds of problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/generally-speaking-books-don-t-cause-much-harm-except-when-you-read/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [Because I'm dangerous. I don't mean to be but I am. I'm dangerous to be around, dangerous to everybody. I cause harm. I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-bowler/because-i-m-dangerous-i-don-t-mean-to-be-but-i-am-i-m-dangerous-to-be/) [Tim Bowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-bowler/) > [If it were possible to live without causing harm to any living being at all, then indeed we might well choose not to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/if-it-were-possible-to-live-without-causing-harm-to-any-living-being/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [Let us learn to skillfully draw good out of what would otherwise cause us harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-euphrasia-pelletier/let-us-learn-to-skillfully-draw-good-out-of-what-would-otherwise/) [Mary Euphrasia Pelletier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-euphrasia-pelletier/) > [The Second Rule is that the greatest harm can result from the best intentions. It sounds a paradox, but kindness and good intentions can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/the-second-rule-is-that-the-greatest-harm-can-result-from-the-best/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Sometimes the love of your life does not belong in your life if all they do is cause you harm. You live and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-the-love-of-your-life-does-not-belong-in-your-life-if-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Getting the police involved or levying an absurd punishment just because that's what some zero-tolerance rule mandates - even though it's clear that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/getting-the-police-involved-or-levying-an-absurd-punishment-just/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [The idea that we cause harm by doing what we perceive to be the right thing, that's another theme that interests me. Because most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/the-idea-that-we-cause-harm-by-doing-what-we-perceive-to-be-the-right/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [The reuse of passwords is the No. 1 cause of harm on the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/the-reuse-of-passwords-is-the-no-1-cause-of-harm-on-the-internet/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) ## More by Mark Gibney > [ “\[...\]if Nazi Germany had not invaded other countries but had simply sought to eliminate the entire Jewish population within its own territorial borders, this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/if-nazi-germany-had-not-invaded-other-countries-but-had-simply-sought/) Mark Gibney > [“Whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not, the Western conception of human rights is really about the practices of other states--but never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/whether-we-are-willing-to-acknowledge-it-or-not-the-western/) Mark Gibney > [“The entire premise behind the Bush administration's policy of holding 'enemy combatants' in foreign military bases such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/the-entire-premise-behind-the-bush-administration-s-policy-of-holding/) Mark Gibney Explore all 4 Mark Gibney quotes ## More Obligations quotes > [I see the main problem of my life, and indeed anybody's life, as the balancing of competitive freedoms ... a sense of mutual obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-see-the-main-problem-of-my-life-and-indeed-anybody-s-life-as-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Ordinary citizens are obliged and, if need be, compelled by force to meet their commitments. But let higher obligations of an international order be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-albert-gobat/ordinary-citizens-are-obliged-and-if-need-be-compelled-by-force-to/) [Charles Albert Gobat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-albert-gobat/) > [We thought that, perhaps," said I, hesitating, "it is right to begin with the obligations of home, sir; and that, perhaps, while those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/we-thought-that-perhaps-said-i-hesitating-it-is-right-to-begin-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/and-also-i-assert-our-interest-in-respecting-all-our-obligations-and/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [“A shepherd may like to travel, but he should never forget his sheep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-shepherd-may-like-to-travel-but-he-should-never-forget-his-sheep/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Insofar as international law is observed, it provides us with stability and order and with a means of predicting the behavior of those with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/insofar-as-international-law-is-observed-it-provides-us-with/) [J. 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It makes for obligations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anouilh/i-don-t-want-people-to-love-me-it-makes-for-obligations/) [Jean Anouilh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anouilh/) > [Make tawba not just for sins you've committed, but also for obligations you haven't fulfilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/make-tawba-not-just-for-sins-you-ve-committed-but-also-for/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/duty-is-a-debt-you-owe-to-yourself-to-fulfill-obligations-you-have/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“If you want to rule your life with obligations to other people, that’s you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bich-minh-nguyen/if-you-want-to-rule-your-life-with-obligations-to-other-people-that-s/) [Bich Minh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bich-minh-nguyen/) > [I had no relationship with my father. He was never around. I met him when I was a sophomore in college. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-wallace/i-had-no-relationship-with-my-father-he-was-never-around-i-met-him/) [Ben Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-wallace/) [Browse all 166 Obligations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[...]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Gibney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-obligations-the-duty-not-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Obligations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-obligations-the-duty-not-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c56/mark-gibney-68376_quote_what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-o_1902177.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[...]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.” — Mark Gibney", "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": "Mark Gibney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-gibney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[...]what we are talking about are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-obligations-the-duty-not-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gibney/what-we-are-talking-about-are-negative-obligations-the-duty-not-to/#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 } } ] } ```