--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a little different definition of…" description: "\"“I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the opportunity and the ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/yvon-chouinard-5320_evil_i-have-a-little-different-definition-of_2681416.png" --- # I have a little different definition of evil than most… ![“I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the opportunity and the ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evil. Evil doesn't always have to be an overt act, it can be merely the absence of good.” quote by Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/yvon-chouinard-5320_evil_i-have-a-little-different-definition-of_2681416.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/yvon-chouinard-5320_evil_i-have-a-little-different-definition-of_2681416.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/yvon-chouinard-5320_evil_i-have-a-little-different-definition-of_2681416.png) > ““I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the opportunity and the ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evil. Evil doesn't always have to be an overt act, it can be merely the absence of good.”” [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He defines evil as the failure to act good when able, emphasizing moral responsibility over overt wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Evil is neglecting good deeds when capable. Key Takeaway Act when you can help. Themes ethics responsibility goodness evil Mood reflective motivational Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - environmental advocacy - business ethics - community service Key Concepts moral philosophy activism corporate responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from doing good? - How can you overcome inertia? A Different Perspective Good actions can be hard to identify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-people/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Evil is evil, and it doesn't discriminate by dress. Some evil people in the headlines wear designer suits and wing-tipped shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-loesch/evil-is-evil-and-it-doesn-t-discriminate-by-dress-some-evil-people-in/) [Dana Loesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-loesch/) > [The truest definition of evil is that which represents it as something contrary to nature; evil is evil because it is unnatural; a vine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/the-truest-definition-of-evil-is-that-which-represents-it-as/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/evil-doesn-t-have-to-be-an-overt-act-it-can-be-merely-the-absence-of/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [In this very real world, good doesn't drive out evil. Evil doesn't drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/in-this-very-real-world-good-doesn-t-drive-out-evil-evil-doesn-t/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“He was not Evil, for even Evil has a certain vitality — Bel-Shamharoth was the flip side of the coin of which Good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/he-was-not-evil-for-even-evil-has-a-certain-vitality-bel-shamharoth/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [In the struggle of good against evil, it's always the people who get killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-the-struggle-of-good-against-evil-it-s-always-the-people-who-get/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“As long as you remember that fighting evil doesn't necessarily make you good! Good and evil are each other's enemies, but they are often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonke-dragt/as-long-as-you-remember-that-fighting-evil-doesn-t-necessarily-make/) Tonke Dragt > [Ultimately evil is done not so much by evil people, but by good people who do not know themselves and who do not probe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/ultimately-evil-is-done-not-so-much-by-evil-people-but-by-good-people/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“Evil people don't see themselves as evil but call you evil when you do to them the same they do to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/evil-people-don-t-see-themselves-as-evil-but-call-you-evil-when-you/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“Good at the wrong place and time becomes evil; evil in the right place and time becomes good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/good-at-the-wrong-place-and-time-becomes-evil-evil-in-the-right-place/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [I believe that consistently we need to look for good, and not for evil, that when we look for evil we call up evil,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-believe-that-consistently-we-need-to-look-for-good-and-not-for-evil/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Good has become bastardized, made to look evil by evil claiming to be good until both good and evil are lost in the mix."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-griffin/good-has-become-bastardized-made-to-look-evil-by-evil-claiming-to-be/) [Gerald Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-griffin/) > [It is not true that good can only follow from good and evil only from evil, but that often the opposite is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/it-is-not-true-that-good-can-only-follow-from-good-and-evil-only-from/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [We may draw good out of evil; we must not do evil, that good may come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-weston-chapman/we-may-draw-good-out-of-evil-we-must-not-do-evil-that-good-may-come/) [Maria Weston Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-weston-chapman/) > [“it is not true that good can follow only from good and evil only from evil, but that often the opposite is true. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/it-is-not-true-that-good-can-follow-only-from-good-and-evil-only-from/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) ## More by Yvon Chouinard > [Once you educate yourself, you're left with choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/once-you-educate-yourself-you-re-left-with-choices/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [A real capitalist knows that $10 given today does a lot more good than $100 given 10 years from now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/a-real-capitalist-knows-that-10-given-today-does-a-lot-more-good-than/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Doing risk sports had taught me another important lesson: never exceed your limits. You push the envelope and you live for those moments when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/doing-risk-sports-had-taught-me-another-important-lesson-never-exceed/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [But I'm really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That's what's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/but-i-m-really-trying-to-run-this-company-like-it-is-going-to-be-here/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are responsible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/who-are-businesses-really-responsible-to-their-customers-shareholders/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/it-s-okay-to-be-eccentric-if-you-re-rich-otherwise-you-re-just-crazy/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/evil-doesn-t-have-to-be-an-overt-act-it-can-be-merely-the-absence-of/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [The whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain. But if you compromise the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-whole-purpose-of-climbing-something-like-everest-is-to-effect/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/at-patagonia-making-a-profit-is-not-the-goal-because-the-zen-master/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Traveling is my form of self-education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/traveling-is-my-form-of-self-education/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we personally own that’s made, sold, shipped, stored, cleaned, and ultimately thrown away does some environmental harm every step of the way, harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-personally-own-that-s-made-sold-shipped-stored-cleaned/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [We've teamed up with some Japanese companies to, basically by 2010, make all our clothing out of recycled and recyclable fibers. And we're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/we-ve-teamed-up-with-some-japanese-companies-to-basically-by-2010/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [You can solo-climb Everest without using oxygen or you can pay guides and Sherpas to carry your loads, put ladders across crevasses, lay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/you-can-solo-climb-everest-without-using-oxygen-or-you-can-pay-guides/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Climbing for speed records will probably become more popular, a mania which has just begun. Climbers climb not just to see how fast and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/climbing-for-speed-records-will-probably-become-more-popular-a-mania/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we make pollutes. The most responsible thing we can do is to make each product as well as we know how so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-make-pollutes-the-most-responsible-thing-we-can-do-is/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) [Explore all 101 Yvon Chouinard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have a little different definition of evil than most people. When you have the opportunity and the ability to do good and you do nothing, that's evil. 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