--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are no shortcuts to moral insight…" description: "\"“There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg" --- # There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not… ![“There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our species is such an insignificant latecomer in a world not constructed for us. So much the better. The answers to moral dilemmas are not lying out…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg) > ““There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our species is such an insignificant latecomer in a world not constructed for us. So much the better. The answers to moral dilemmas are not lying out there, waiting to be discovered. They reside, like the kingdom of God, within us -- the most difficult and inaccessible spot for any discovery or consensus.”” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral insight isn’t found externally; it resides within us, making it elusive and personal. **In simple terms:** Moral truth is internal, not external. Key Takeaway Seek inner moral compass. Themes morality insight humanity existence Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - ethical decision making - personal reflection - spiritual practice - philosophical debate Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do we trust our internal moral sense? - What role does community play in shaping morality? A Different Perspective Inner moral searching can be ambiguous and culturally biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Kingdom of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdom-of-god/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Since everything in nature answers to a moral power, if any phenomenon remains brute and dark, it is that the corresponding faculty in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/since-everything-in-nature-answers-to-a-moral-power-if-any-phenomenon/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [What I intended to accomplish was to rouse the student body, not by means of an organization, but solely by my simple words; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-huber/what-i-intended-to-accomplish-was-to-rouse-the-student-body-not-by/) [Kurt Huber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-huber/) > [George Orwell is a pinnacle writer, for his combination of moral insight and literary writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/george-orwell-is-a-pinnacle-writer-for-his-combination-of-moral/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer. What I hate in fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/fiction-should-be-about-moral-dilemmas-that-are-so-bloody-difficult-2/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [One of the great weaknesses of the progressive, as distinct from the religious, mind, is that it has no awareness of truth as such;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/one-of-the-great-weaknesses-of-the-progressive-as-distinct-from-the/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: 'What are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/each-generation-as-it-seeks-to-advance-the-common-good-must-ask-anew/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [“Kant does not seem to envisage that we are torn between two courses of action for moral reasons. He makes no provisions for genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-timmermann/kant-does-not-seem-to-envisage-that-we-are-torn-between-two-courses/) Jens Timmermann > [Like most parents, I think, my children have been the source of some of my most intense joys and despairs, my deepest moral dilemmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/like-most-parents-i-think-my-children-have-been-the-source-of-some-of/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [The literary depiction of life and its moral dilemmas compel us to use our conscience, to make those infallible distinctions between right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/the-literary-depiction-of-life-and-its-moral-dilemmas-compel-us-to/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/fiction-should-be-about-moral-dilemmas-that-are-so-bloody-difficult/) [Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/) > [The difference between moral dilemmas and ethical ones, philosophers say, is that in moral issues the choice is between right and wrong. In ethics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-warrick/the-difference-between-moral-dilemmas-and-ethical-ones-philosophers/) Pamela Warrick > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our species is such an insignificant latecomer in a world not constructed for us. So much the better. The answers to moral dilemmas are not lying out there, waiting to be discovered. They reside, like the kingdom of God, within us -- the most difficult and inaccessible spot for any discovery or consensus.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight-nature-is-not-intrinsically/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight-nature-is-not-intrinsically/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbf/stephen-jay-gould-885_character_there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight_3029357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "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": "Stephen Jay Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are no shortcuts to moral...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight-nature-is-not-intrinsically/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/there-are-no-shortcuts-to-moral-insight-nature-is-not-intrinsically/#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 } } ] } ```