--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is usual to think of good and evil as…" description: "\"It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this conv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg" --- # It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two… ![“It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this convention.” quote by Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg) > “It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this convention.” [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) ## 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 are not binary opposites; the dichotomy limits understanding. **In simple terms:** Reject simplistic good‑evil binaries. Key Takeaway Seek nuanced perspectives. Themes ethics duality philosophy Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal decisions - social debates - conflict mediation Key Concepts existentialism moral theory Questions to Reflect On - How does moving beyond binaries affect moral choices? - What frameworks replace good‑evil oppositions? A Different Perspective Binary thinking can be useful for quick judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antithesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Two opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-opposites/) ## Related quotes > [We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. We found out later that we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-adams/we-began-intercepting-japanese-radio-transmissions-which-indicated/) [Jack Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-adams/) > [Doubt and faith are equally charged in opposite directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/doubt-and-faith-are-equally-charged-in-opposite-directions/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Making a living and making a life sometimes point in opposite directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/making-a-living-and-making-a-life-sometimes-point-in-opposite/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/the-iq-and-the-life-expectancy-of-the-average-american-recently/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Over the top and under the bottom, I wedge myself in opposite directions to stay in the middle of everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-m-cronkhite/over-the-top-and-under-the-bottom-i-wedge-myself-in-opposite/) [Lisa M. Cronkhite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-m-cronkhite/) > [“I didn't know then that this was how deep emotion most often comes, from opposite directions and at once, when you are least aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/i-didn-t-know-then-that-this-was-how-deep-emotion-most-often-comes/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [Sometimes there are two very opposite directions, and we go with the stronger one at the end. It's an impulse thing, like, 'Oh, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/sometimes-there-are-two-very-opposite-directions-and-we-go-with-the/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [Choosing friends who are headed in opposite directions shown a real lack of faith in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choosing-friends-who-are-headed-in-opposite-directions-shown-a-real/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you cry ''Forward'' you must be sure to make clear the direction in which to go. Don't you see that if you fail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-you-cry-forward-you-must-be-sure-to-make-clear-the-direction-in/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/marriage-resembles-a-pair-of-shears-so-joined-that-they-cannot-be/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Its like theres arrows above our heads pointing in opposite directions. You are going one way and I am going the other and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bognar/its-like-theres-arrows-above-our-heads-pointing-in-opposite/) [Jenna Bognar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bognar/) > [“If you were to draw a map of the two of them, of where they started out and where they would both end up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/if-you-were-to-draw-a-map-of-the-two-of-them-of-where-they-started/) [Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/) > [The kids kept walking, moving through the Henley's halls like a tide, but when Kat turned to leave, she walked in the opposite directions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/the-kids-kept-walking-moving-through-the-henley-s-halls-like-a-tide/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [“What opposes unites, and the finest attunement stems from things bearing in opposite directions, and all things come about by strife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/what-opposes-unites-and-the-finest-attunement-stems-from-things/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [When two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly half way between. It is possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/when-two-opposite-points-of-view-are-expressed-with-equal-intensity/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Martin Buber > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Mundus vult decipi: the world wants to be deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/mundus-vult-decipi-the-world-wants-to-be-deceived/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power. ... The great man, whether we comprehend him in the most intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/greatness-by-nature-includes-a-power-but-not-a-will-to-power-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [You can rake the muck this way, rake the muck that way-- it will always be muck. Have I sinned or have I not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-can-rake-the-muck-this-way-rake-the-muck-that-way-it-will-always/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [God cannot be seen, but He can listened to and spoken to!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-cannot-be-seen-but-he-can-listened-to-and-spoken-to/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [What has to be given up is not the I, as most mystics suppose: this I is indispensable for any relationship, including the highest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/what-has-to-be-given-up-is-not-the-i-as-most-mystics-suppose-this-i/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [In the beginning was the relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-beginning-was-the-relationship/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [To begin with oneself but not to end with onself. To start from oneself but not to aim at oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/to-begin-with-oneself-but-not-to-end-with-onself-to-start-from/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-journeys-have-secret-destinations-of-which-the-traveller-is/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [The concept of guilt is found most powerfully developed even in the most primitive communal forms which we know... the man is guilty who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-concept-of-guilt-is-found-most-powerfully-developed-even-in-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [This is the eternal origin of art that a human being confronts a form that wants to become a work through him. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-eternal-origin-of-art-that-a-human-being-confronts-a-form/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [God is the "mysterium tremendum," that appears and overthrows, but he is also the mystery of the self-evident, nearer to me than my I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-is-the-mysterium-tremendum-that-appears-and-overthrows-but-he-is/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [No limits are set to the ascent of man, and to each and everyone the highest stands open. Here it is only your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/no-limits-are-set-to-the-ascent-of-man-and-to-each-and-everyone-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [But when a man draws a lifeless thing into his passionate longing for dialogue, lending it independence and as it were a soul, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/but-when-a-man-draws-a-lifeless-thing-into-his-passionate-longing-for/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Explore all 169 Martin Buber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) ## More Antithesis quotes > [Christie led the way - with a bulldozer. The governor is blunt, brash, and self-consciously authentic, the antithesis to what turns off today's voters:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/christie-led-the-way-with-a-bulldozer-the-governor-is-blunt-brash-and/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [... Michael Bloomfield was the antithesis of a collector ... he didn't care how old a guitar was; all he wanted was something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gravenites/michael-bloomfield-was-the-antithesis-of-a-collector-he-didn-t-care/) Nick Gravenites > [“All this waiting. Waiting for the rain to stop. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the bill. Waiting at the airport for an old friend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/all-this-waiting-waiting-for-the-rain-to-stop-waiting-in-traffic/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [One of the goals of philosophy is wage theoretical battle. That is why we can say that every thesis is always, by its very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-althusser/one-of-the-goals-of-philosophy-is-wage-theoretical-battle-that-is-why/) [Louis Althusser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-althusser/) > [ I wrote a comedy, which hopefully \[Rick director\] Curtiss Clayton will bring to the screen, that I thought was the antithesis of all my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-wrote-a-comedy-which-hopefully-rick-director-curtiss-clayton-will/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [Everything contains its antithesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-stevenson/everything-contains-its-antithesis/) [Juliet Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-stevenson/) > [I'm unhappy with the President Trump. I don't like his behavior, and I'm a Republican, and I don't like his policies because they're almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/i-m-unhappy-with-the-president-trump-i-don-t-like-his-behavior-and-i/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [the overwhelming majority of people who are engaged in the processes of thought and expression are Democrats because the essence of thought is exploration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/the-overwhelming-majority-of-people-who-are-engaged-in-the-processes/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Free will appears unfettered, deliberate; it is boundlessly free, wandering, the spirit. But fate is a necessity; unless we believe that world history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/free-will-appears-unfettered-deliberate-it-is-boundlessly-free/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-am-so-stupid-that-i-cannot-understand-philosophy-the-antithesis-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/communism-forgets-that-life-is-individual-capitalism-forgets-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Composing computer programs to solve scientific problems is like writing poetry. You must choose every word with care and link it with the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/composing-computer-programs-to-solve-scientific-problems-is-like/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Don't seek happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness. Happiness is ever elusive, but freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-seek-happiness-if-you-seek-it-you-won-t-find-it-because-seeking/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Without making any moral judgements whatsoever, one can say that self-indulgence and excessive self-preoccupation are the antithesis of genuine awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-rolheiser/without-making-any-moral-judgements-whatsoever-one-can-say-that-self/) [Ronald Rolheiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-rolheiser/) > [I am not a hoarder, but my wardrobe is the antithesis of fast fashion. I buy clothes - beautiful in looks and make -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-menkes/i-am-not-a-hoarder-but-my-wardrobe-is-the-antithesis-of-fast-fashion/) [Suzy Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-menkes/) [Browse all 152 Antithesis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithesis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this convention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as-two-poles-two-opposite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antithesis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as-two-poles-two-opposite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/martin-buber-2381_antithesis_it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as_1668400.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one…” — Martin Buber", "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": "Martin Buber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is usual to think of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as-two-poles-two-opposite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/it-is-usual-to-think-of-good-and-evil-as-two-poles-two-opposite/#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 } } ] } ```