--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideas like cosmic justice, collective…" description: "\"“Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. The truth was in the everything that came after atheism, af..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_amorality_ideas-like-cosmic-justice-collective-hop_1079529.png" --- # Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national… ![“Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. The truth was in the everything that came after atheism, after the amorality of the universe is taken not as a problem but as a given. It was then that I was freed from considering my own morality away from…” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_amorality_ideas-like-cosmic-justice-collective-hop_1079529.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_amorality_ideas-like-cosmic-justice-collective-hop_1079529.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_amorality_ideas-like-cosmic-justice-collective-hop_1079529.png) > ““Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. The truth was in the everything that came after atheism, after the amorality of the universe is taken not as a problem but as a given. It was then that I was freed from considering my own morality away from the cosmic and the abstract. Life was short, and death undefeated. So I loved hard, since I would not love for long.”” [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rejects abstract moral frameworks, finding freedom in accepting the universe’s amoral nature and focusing on intense, fleeting love. **In simple terms:** Freedom comes from letting go of abstract morality and embracing love. Key Takeaway Embrace love now, without expecting permanence. Themes existentialism freedom love mortality Mood reflective intense somber Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - personal relationships - artistic expression - coping with loss - seeking meaning Key Concepts nihilism cosmic indifference authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does accepting amoral reality affect your daily choices? - Can love thrive without lasting commitment? A Different Perspective The view may ignore the value of ethical principles for societal cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amorality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorality/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“I may have once had some thin faith in something like cosmic justice, but now I believe in box-cutters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sternbergh/i-may-have-once-had-some-thin-faith-in-something-like-cosmic-justice/) [Adam Sternbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sternbergh/) > [“Lamenting the vagaries of fate may leave us with a galling sense of helpless frustration, which many escape by transforming the tragedy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/lamenting-the-vagaries-of-fate-may-leave-us-with-a-galling-sense-of/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [As for the law of moral causation ('karma'): this is human justice dressed up as cosmic justice and then imputed to the impersonal workings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/as-for-the-law-of-moral-causation-karma-this-is-human-justice-dressed/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“It would be almost a public service to dangle the alternatives in front of the widow before Miles got her mind all turned inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-would-be-almost-a-public-service-to-dangle-the-alternatives-in/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Moral spontaneity" corresponds entirely with "religious and orthodox philosophy", "constitutional monarchy", "the Christian state", "freedom with certain limits", or in a figure, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/moral-spontaneity-corresponds-entirely-with-religious-and-orthodox/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-is-called-amorality-is-a-thing/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I've inherited the worst of each parent. I have my father's hypochondria and lack of concentration. I have his amorality. I have everything bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-inherited-the-worst-of-each-parent-i-have-my-father-s/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“We see here that Plato recognizes only one ultimate standard, the interest of the state. Everything that furthers it is good and virtuous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-see-here-that-plato-recognizes-only-one-ultimate-standard-the/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“You know I love you. You're the only one." "She isn't the first woman he's ever said that to. He shouldn't have used it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-know-i-love-you-you-re-the-only-one-she-isn-t-the-first-woman-he/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“ROSINE. What gives you the right? BARTHOLO. The oldest right in the world: the right of the strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/rosine-what-gives-you-the-right-bartholo-the-oldest-right-in-the/) [Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/) > [Prostitution is not just a service industry, mopping up the overflow of male demand, which always exceeds female supply. Prostitution testifies to the amoral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/prostitution-is-not-just-a-service-industry-mopping-up-the-overflow/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Ultimately amorality is immorality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-m-keesing/ultimately-amorality-is-immorality/) Roger M. Keesing > [“Ah. Well, it stands for Freedom From Morality. We don't think healthy amorality happens naturally." "But you're not amoral," I pointed out. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/ah-well-it-stands-for-freedom-from-morality-we-don-t-think-healthy/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“Each generation exercises power over its successors: and each, in so far as it modifies the environment bequeathed to it and rebels against tradition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/each-generation-exercises-power-over-its-successors-and-each-in-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Ta-Nehisi Coates > [“To Trump whiteness is neither notional nor symbolic but is the very core of his power. In this, Trump is not singular. But whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/to-trump-whiteness-is-neither-notional-nor-symbolic-but-is-the-very/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. Indeed, there is a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-focus-on-one-sector-of-trump-voters-the-white-working-class-is/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-am-telling-you-is-that-you-do-not-need-to-know-to-love-and-it/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I think 'Dear White People,' the show, is a tremendous artistic achievement. It's always hinting that there is something beyond the pleading and wokeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-think-dear-white-people-the-show-is-a-tremendous-artistic/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Winning the White House was an achievement\], but as an African-American, \[Barack Obama\], I think the symbolism is in how he conducted himself. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/winning-the-white-house-was-an-achievement-but-as-an-african-american/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-sets-black-people-apart-is-not-some-deficit-in-personal/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Like a lot of people, I'm very, very concerned about Senator Clinton's record. I'm very, very concerned about where her positions were in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/like-a-lot-of-people-i-m-very-very-concerned-about-senator-clinton-s/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I drove away, as always, thinking of you. I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-drove-away-as-always-thinking-of-you-i-do-not-believe-that-we-can/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices—more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-m-talking-about-is-more-than-recompense-for-past-injustices/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The mainstream sort of presentation of the civil rights movement was not something that I directly inherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-mainstream-sort-of-presentation-of-the-civil-rights-movement-was/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Grew up in Hawaii\] that gave \[Barack Obama\] a kind of optimism, an ability to see things, you know, and frankly, an ability to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/grew-up-in-hawaii-that-gave-barack-obama-a-kind-of-optimism-an/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we did not ask:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-sensed-the-schools-were-hiding-something-drugging-us-with-false/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [You don't make a case for reparations thinking, 'Oh yeah, people are gonna love this.' I didn't see that coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/you-don-t-make-a-case-for-reparations-thinking-oh-yeah-people-are/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“And I know that there are black boys and black girls out there lost in a Bermuda triangle of the mind or stranded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/and-i-know-that-there-are-black-boys-and-black-girls-out-there-lost/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) [Explore all 388 Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## More Amorality quotes > [“Each generation exercises power over its successors: and each, in so far as it modifies the environment bequeathed to it and rebels against tradition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/each-generation-exercises-power-over-its-successors-and-each-in-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Ah. Well, it stands for Freedom From Morality. We don't think healthy amorality happens naturally." "But you're not amoral," I pointed out. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/ah-well-it-stands-for-freedom-from-morality-we-don-t-think-healthy/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [“Ultimately amorality is immorality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-m-keesing/ultimately-amorality-is-immorality/) Roger M. Keesing > [Prostitution is not just a service industry, mopping up the overflow of male demand, which always exceeds female supply. Prostitution testifies to the amoral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/prostitution-is-not-just-a-service-industry-mopping-up-the-overflow/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“ROSINE. What gives you the right? BARTHOLO. The oldest right in the world: the right of the strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/rosine-what-gives-you-the-right-bartholo-the-oldest-right-in-the/) [Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/) > [“How deep, how recondite this seeming petty heart, In whose recesses right and wrong lie dimmed by distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/how-deep-how-recondite-this-seeming-petty-heart-in-whose-recesses/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [“You know I love you. You're the only one." "She isn't the first woman he's ever said that to. He shouldn't have used it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-know-i-love-you-you-re-the-only-one-she-isn-t-the-first-woman-he/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“We see here that Plato recognizes only one ultimate standard, the interest of the state. Everything that furthers it is good and virtuous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/we-see-here-that-plato-recognizes-only-one-ultimate-standard-the/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [I've inherited the worst of each parent. I have my father's hypochondria and lack of concentration. I have his amorality. I have everything bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-inherited-the-worst-of-each-parent-i-have-my-father-s/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [What, by a word lacking even in grammar, is called amorality, is a thing that does not exist. If you are unwilling to submit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/what-by-a-word-lacking-even-in-grammar-is-called-amorality-is-a-thing/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“Moral spontaneity" corresponds entirely with "religious and orthodox philosophy", "constitutional monarchy", "the Christian state", "freedom with certain limits", or in a figure, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/moral-spontaneity-corresponds-entirely-with-religious-and-orthodox/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [“The amorality of nature is accepted, whether it takes the form of a monsoon, an elephant in musth, or a disease; but being subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-amorality-of-nature-is-accepted-whether-it-takes-the-form-of-a/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [“A conscience is a self-reproaching program that is installed in us, not by nature, but by our culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-conscience-is-a-self-reproaching-program-that-is-installed-in-us/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“She leaned back in her chair and raised her face to the sun, mildly intoxicated, not so much by the wine as by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/she-leaned-back-in-her-chair-and-raised-her-face-to-the-sun-mildly/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [In short, what the living wage is really about is not living standards, or even economics, but morality. Its advocates are basically opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/in-short-what-the-living-wage-is-really-about-is-not-living-standards/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) [Browse all 29 Amorality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ideas like cosmic justice, collective hope, and national redemption had no meaning for me. The truth was in the everything that came after atheism, after the amorality of the universe is taken not as a problem but as a given. It was then that I was freed from considering my own morality away from the cosmic and the abstract. Life was short, and death undefeated. 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