--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are in a position to affect the…" description: "\"“If we are in a position to affect the happiness or suffering of others, we have ethical responsibilities toward them2—and many of these responsibiliti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/sam-harris-457_criminal-law_if-we-are-in-a-position-to-affect-the-ha_1732273.jpg" --- # If we are in a position to affect the happiness or… ![“If we are in a position to affect the happiness or suffering of others, we have ethical responsibilities toward them2—and many of these responsibilities are so grave as to become matters of civil and criminal law. Taking” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/sam-harris-457_criminal-law_if-we-are-in-a-position-to-affect-the-ha_1732273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/sam-harris-457_criminal-law_if-we-are-in-a-position-to-affect-the-ha_1732273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c0/sam-harris-457_criminal-law_if-we-are-in-a-position-to-affect-the-ha_1732273.jpg) > ““If we are in a position to affect the happiness or suffering of others, we have ethical responsibilities toward them2—and many of these responsibilities are so grave as to become matters of civil and criminal law. Taking”” [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that moral duties arise when we can influence others' wellbeing, sometimes requiring legal enforcement. **In simple terms:** We must act responsibly for others' welfare. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for others' happiness. Themes ethics responsibility law Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - community service - legal reform Key Concepts moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do you hold? - When should law intervene in morality? A Different Perspective Legal systems may be slow or biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criminal law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-law/) [Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/) [Ethical Responsibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical-responsibilities-1441620/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Responsibilities Grave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibilities-grave-1441621/) [Responsibilities Them2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibilities-them2-1441622/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Suffering Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-ethical-1441619/) ## Related quotes > [Today we live in a society suffering from ethical rickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/today-we-live-in-a-society-suffering-from-ethical-rickets/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [We read the Golden Rule and judge it to be a brilliant distillation of many of our ethical impulses. 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Being of dramatic bent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/i-was-married-to-a-law-student-and-i-used-to-attend-classes-with-him/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## More by Sam Harris > [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. Whatever wisdom can be found in their pages is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/as-manuals-for-contemplative-understanding-the-bible-and-the-koran/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/if-your-golf-instructor-were-to-insist-that-you-shave-your-head-sleep/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. Otherwise, we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/muslim-moderates-wherever-they-are-must-be-given-every-tool-necessary/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-that-any-one-of-our-religions-represents-the-infallible-word/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Explore all 543 Sam Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More Criminal law quotes > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I was married to a law student, and I used to attend classes with him at Georgetown University Law Center. 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This is one nation and there is one criminal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-financial-elite-do-not-need-special-laws-for-themselves-this-is/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill it teaches the whole people by example. Crime is contagious. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/our-government-is-the-potent-the-omnipresent-teacher-for-good-or-for/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [Canada has treated abortion as just another medical procedure since 1988, when the Supreme Court struck down the old criminal law. Most Canadians seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/canada-has-treated-abortion-as-just-another-medical-procedure-since/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [This is not to condone torture, which is still prohibited by the Torture Convention and federal criminal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yoo/this-is-not-to-condone-torture-which-is-still-prohibited-by-the/) [John Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yoo/) > [“The accession of not one but three illegal drug users in a row to the US presidency constitutes an existential challenge to the prohibitionist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dhywood/the-accession-of-not-one-but-three-illegal-drug-users-in-a-row-to-the/) [Jeffrey Dhywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dhywood/) > [Applying criminal law to the exchange of bitcoin on behalf of ransomware victims would create a morally shocking result of re-victimizing a victim. 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