Character Quote by Sam Harris
““The fact that millions of people use the term "morality" as a synonym for religious dogmatism, racism, sexism, or other failures of insight and compassion should not oblige us to merely accept their terminology until the end of time.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Moral Landscape, Sam Harris, 2010
Moral language is often co‑opted by oppressive ideologies, but we should not accept that conflation as immutable.
In simple terms: Moral terms are misused by bigotry, yet we can redefine them.
Key Takeaway
Challenge and clarify moral language.
Themes
ethics
language
politics
social justice
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
activist
When to use this quote
- Political discourse
- education reform
- activism
- media analysis
Key Concepts
Moral philosophy
cognitive bias
critical theory
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we separate morality from dogma?
- What alternative vocabularies promote compassion?
A Different Perspective
Changing entrenched language can be socially contentious.
![“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern world. [...] The first thing to observe about the moderate’s retreat from scriptural literalism is that it draws its inspiration not from scripture but from…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b44/sam-harris-457_bible_moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to_6967.jpg)
