--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not think it possible for anyone to…" description: "\"I do not think it possible for anyone to get by in life without prejudice. However, the attempt to do so leads many people to suppose that, in order to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/theodore-dalrymple-7084_answer_i-do-not-think-it-possible-for-anyone-to_3194891.jpg" --- # I do not think it possible for anyone to get by in life… ![“I do not think it possible for anyone to get by in life without prejudice. However, the attempt to do so leads many people to suppose that, in order to decide any moral question, they have to find an indubitable first principle from which they can deduce an answer.” quote by Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/theodore-dalrymple-7084_answer_i-do-not-think-it-possible-for-anyone-to_3194891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/theodore-dalrymple-7084_answer_i-do-not-think-it-possible-for-anyone-to_3194891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/theodore-dalrymple-7084_answer_i-do-not-think-it-possible-for-anyone-to_3194891.jpg) > “I do not think it possible for anyone to get by in life without prejudice. However, the attempt to do so leads many people to suppose that, in order to decide any moral question, they have to find an indubitable first principle from which they can deduce an answer.” [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prejudice is inevitable; seeking a flawless moral foundation is futile. **In simple terms:** We all have biases; perfect moral certainty is impossible. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection, act ethically despite bias. Themes ethics prejudice human nature Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decision making - legal judgments - social policy Key Concepts moral philosophy cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize your own biases? - Can moral decisions be made without absolute certainty? A Different Perspective Prejudice can be mitigated through reflection and dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Anyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anyone/) [Attempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempt/) [Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide/) [Decide Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-moral-1741517/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [However](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/however/) [Leads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leads/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-prejudice-2983696/) [Many](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/many/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-question-333892/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Prejudice Attempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice-attempt-5907730/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Suppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppose/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) ## Related quotes > [Life without prejudice, were it ever to be tried, would soon reveal itself to be a life without principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/life-without-prejudice-were-it-ever-to-be-tried-would-soon-reveal-2/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [Men are free to decide their own moral choices, but they are also under the necessity to account to God for those choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/men-are-free-to-decide-their-own-moral-choices-but-they-are-also-2/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Life without prejudice, were it ever to be tried, would soon reveal itself to be a life without principle. For prejudices, as we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/life-without-prejudice-were-it-ever-to-be-tried-would-soon-reveal/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“Men are free to decide their own moral choices, but they are also under the necessity to account to God for those choices. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer-2/men-are-free-to-decide-their-own-moral-choices-but-they-are-also/) [A. W. 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O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) ## More by Theodore Dalrymple > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Many young people now end a discussion with the supposedly definitive and unanswerable statement that such is their opinion, and their opinion is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/many-young-people-now-end-a-discussion-with-the-supposedly-definitive/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“even received a few requests that I send medicine, since none was available in the local pharmacies—an admission, unthinkable a few years ago, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/even-received-a-few-requests-that-i-send-medicine-since-none-was/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [There is nothing an addict likes more, or that serves as better pretext for continuing his present way of life, than to place the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/there-is-nothing-an-addict-likes-more-or-that-serves-as-better/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“pride must be in the work, not the person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/pride-must-be-in-the-work-not-the-person/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“In The Gulag Archipelago, for example, Alexander Solzhenitsyn remarks that Shakespeare’s evildoers, Macbeth notably among them, stop short at a mere dozen corpses because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/in-the-gulag-archipelago-for-example-alexander-solzhenitsyn-remarks/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Orders can be benign or malign, but the habit of obeying them can become ingrained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/orders-can-be-benign-or-malign-but-the-habit-of-obeying-them-can/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“A taste for kitsch among the well-to-do is a sign of spiritual impoverishment; but among the poor, it represents a striving for beauty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/a-taste-for-kitsch-among-the-well-to-do-is-a-sign-of-spiritual/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“Facts are much more malleable than prejudices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/facts-are-much-more-malleable-than-prejudices/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. 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