--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does the earth look like in the…" description: "\"What does the earth look like in the places where people commit atrocities? Is there a bad smell, a genius loci, something about the landscape that mig..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/robert-d-kaplan-12644_atrocities_what-does-the-earth-look-like-in-the-pla_989570.png" --- # What does the earth look like in the places where people… ![“What does the earth look like in the places where people commit atrocities? Is there a bad smell, a genius loci, something about the landscape that might incriminate?” quote by Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/robert-d-kaplan-12644_atrocities_what-does-the-earth-look-like-in-the-pla_989570.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/robert-d-kaplan-12644_atrocities_what-does-the-earth-look-like-in-the-pla_989570.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/robert-d-kaplan-12644_atrocities_what-does-the-earth-look-like-in-the-pla_989570.png) > “What does the earth look like in the places where people commit atrocities? Is there a bad smell, a genius loci, something about the landscape that might incriminate?” [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote asks whether physical environments reflect moral evil, suggesting a link between landscape and human cruelty. **In simple terms:** It wonders if places of atrocity have a distinct, ominous feel. Key Takeaway Consider how environment influences perception of evil. Themes morality environment perception Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - war zones - historical sites - urban decay - natural disasters Key Concepts psychogeography ethics place attachment Questions to Reflect On - Can we judge a place by its atmosphere? - Do environments shape behavior? A Different Perspective Physical traits may not reliably indicate moral actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Atrocities Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities-bad-2017265/) [Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-look-687345/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Landscape Incriminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape-incriminate-2017267/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [I always say I'm no different than a 19th-century landscape painter, it's just that we have these incredible tools to look at the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-lin/i-always-say-i-m-no-different-than-a-19th-century-landscape-painter/) [Maya Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-lin/) > [“Lizzie said that if you imagined you were standing on the moon, looking down on the earth, you wouldn't be able to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/lizzie-said-that-if-you-imagined-you-were-standing-on-the-moon/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [There's nothing on earth to do here but look at the view and eat. You can imagine the result since I do not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/there-s-nothing-on-earth-to-do-here-but-look-at-the-view-and-eat-you/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-only-animal-that-deals-in-that-atrocity-of-atrocities-war/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) ## More by Robert D. Kaplan > [“And so this is where the post Cold War has brought us: to the recognition that the very totalitarism that we fought against in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/and-so-this-is-where-the-post-cold-war-has-brought-us-to-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Or take the opportunity offered to the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when both Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mohammed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/or-take-the-opportunity-offered-to-the-united-states-following-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [When you talk about aiding this country against that country or about fighting terrorism, when you actually take that decision and strip it down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/when-you-talk-about-aiding-this-country-against-that-country-or-about/) [Robert D. 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Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Macedonia, the inspiration for the French word for "mixed salad" (macedoine), defines the principle illness of the Balkans: conflicting dreams of lost imperial glory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/macedonia-the-inspiration-for-the-french-word-for-mixed-salad/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The more dynamic the capitalistic expansion, the greater the disparity. It is from the disparity that we are going to get all the political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-more-dynamic-the-capitalistic-expansion-the-greater-the-disparity/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [It is easy to be a moral perfectionist when one is politically unaccountable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/it-is-easy-to-be-a-moral-perfectionist-when-one-is-politically/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The masses cannot ultimately be free: only the individual can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-masses-cannot-ultimately-be-free-only-the-individual-can-be/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern fringe of the German-speaking world-the closer one gets, in other words, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-eastern-or-the-southern-fringe-of/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“The South China Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific and Indian oceans—the mass of connective economic tissue where global sea routes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-south-china-sea-functions-as-the-throat-of-the-western-pacific/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“A better age would have to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/a-better-age-would-have-to-follow/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) [Explore all 54 Robert D. Kaplan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## More Atrocities quotes > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. 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