--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do you know what morals are? Morals are…" description: "\"Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to rules that people laid down to help you live among them.\" — Theodore Sturgeon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg" --- # Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to… ![“Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to rules that people laid down to help you live among them.” quote by Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg) > “Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to rules that people laid down to help you live among them.” [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Morals are societal rules designed to facilitate harmonious coexistence among people. **In simple terms:** Rules help people live together peacefully. Key Takeaway Follow shared rules to foster community. Themes ethics society cooperation Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace collaboration - neighborhood interactions - online communities - family dynamics Key Concepts social contract norms Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever feel a rule is unjust? - How do you balance personal values with societal expectations? A Different Perspective Rules may conflict with personal conscience or cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morals/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The best laws cannot make a constitution work in spite of morals; morals can turn the worst laws to advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-best-laws-cannot-make-a-constitution-work-in-spite-of-morals-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Religion is the only solid Base of morals and that Morals are the only possible Support of free governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gouverneur-morris/religion-is-the-only-solid-base-of-morals-and-that-morals-are-the/) [Gouverneur Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gouverneur-morris/) > [The best laws cannot make a constitution work in spite of morals; morals can turn the worst laws to advantage. That is a commonplace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-best-laws-cannot-make-a-constitution-work-in-spite-of-morals/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Books follow morals, and not morals books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/books-follow-morals-and-not-morals-books/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [The organs in our body are not aware who is popular and who's not. They can stop working in any body, they also don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-grover/the-organs-in-our-body-are-not-aware-who-is-popular-and-who-s-not/) [Sunil Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-grover/) > [“Do you know what morals are, Violet? They’re other people’s rules. Do you know what a conscience is? Freedom to use your own intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/do-you-know-what-morals-are-violet-they-re-other-people-s-rules-do/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I had taken a course in Ethics. I read a thick textbook, heard the class discussions and came out of it saying I hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/i-had-taken-a-course-in-ethics-i-read-a-thick-textbook-heard-the/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [I'm not trying to be something I'm not. I know what I believe in. I know my morals and I know what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-hale/i-m-not-trying-to-be-something-i-m-not-i-know-what-i-believe-in-i/) [Lucy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-hale/) > [We get our morals from books. I didn't get mine from books, but I know that morals do come from books- theoretically at least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-get-our-morals-from-books-i-didn-t-get-mine-from-books-but-i-know/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's my opinion that every one I know has morals, though I wouldn't like to ask. I know I have. But I'd rather teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-my-opinion-that-every-one-i-know-has-morals-though-i-wouldn-t/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think I'm more grounded, you know, and I know what I want out of life and I'm, you know, my morals are really,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/i-think-i-m-more-grounded-you-know-and-i-know-what-i-want-out-of-life/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [Morals: They're nothing but a coded survival instinct!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/morals-they-re-nothing-but-a-coded-survival-instinct/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [If the watchdog doesn't bark, how do you know there's a burglar in the basement? And the press is supposed to be a watchdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/if-the-watchdog-doesn-t-bark-how-do-you-know-there-s-a-burglar-in-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Do you know what it is sir? Do you know what the Dance Dance Revolution is? It's not an actual revolution, so you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-peters/do-you-know-what-it-is-sir-do-you-know-what-the-dance-dance/) [Russell Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-peters/) ## More by Theodore Sturgeon > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [For years, I thought I simply didn't dream. I felt left out. Everybody else had a thing I didn't have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/for-years-i-thought-i-simply-didn-t-dream-i-felt-left-out-everybody/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I learned how to live on five and sometimes ten dollars a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-learned-how-to-live-on-five-and-sometimes-ten-dollars-a-week/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“She was perhaps seventeen when it happened. She was in Central Park, in New York. It was too warm for such an early spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/she-was-perhaps-seventeen-when-it-happened-she-was-in-central-park-in/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“Anger was foreign to him; he had only felt it once before. But now it came, a wash of it that made him swell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/anger-was-foreign-to-him-he-had-only-felt-it-once-before-but-now-it/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Fear is a survival instinct; fear in its way is a comfort for it means that somewhere hope is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fear-is-a-survival-instinct-fear-in-its-way-is-a-comfort-for-it-means/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-repeat-sturgeon-s-revelation-which-was-wrung-out-of-me-after-twenty/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Once I had all the facts in, I found I didn't have the immoral courage to pull the caper. So I wrote it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/once-i-had-all-the-facts-in-i-found-i-didn-t-have-the-immoral-courage/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [It should consist of short, sharply focused sentences, each of which is a whole scene in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/it-should-consist-of-short-sharply-focused-sentences-each-of-which-is/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Logic and truth are two very different things, but they often look the same to the mind that's performing the logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/logic-and-truth-are-two-very-different-things-but-they-often-look-the/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Science fiction, outside of poetry, is the only literary field which has no limits, no parameters whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/science-fiction-outside-of-poetry-is-the-only-literary-field-which/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Create a world in which these things do or do not exist, or in which they are extended in some way. Test reality against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/create-a-world-in-which-these-things-do-or-do-not-exist-or-in-which/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“Living things aren't finished, you see. Everything they have ever been in contact with, each thought they have had, each person they have known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/living-things-aren-t-finished-you-see-everything-they-have-ever-been/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Fiction is very important to me. It's what I do, it's what I do with my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fiction-is-very-important-to-me-it-s-what-i-do-it-s-what-i-do-with-my/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [The first writing I did was short short stories for a newspaper syndicate for which I was paid five dollars a piece on publication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/the-first-writing-i-did-was-short-short-stories-for-a-newspaper/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) [Explore all 102 Theodore Sturgeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) ## 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": "Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to rules that people laid down to help you live among them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Sturgeon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-an-obedience-to-rules-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-an-obedience-to-rules-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3d/theodore-sturgeon-4560_character_do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-a_1423010.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do you know what morals are? Morals are an obedience to rules that people laid down to help you live among…” — Theodore Sturgeon", "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": "Theodore Sturgeon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do you know what morals are?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-an-obedience-to-rules-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/do-you-know-what-morals-are-morals-are-an-obedience-to-rules-that/#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 } } ] } ```