John Dewey Quotes

One cannot prescribe to anyone whether he should follow an ethic of absolute ends or an ethic of responsibility.

The price of freedom is responsibility, but it's a bargain, because freedom is priceless.

We do not what we ought; What we ought not, we do; And lean upon the thought That chance will bring us through; But our own acts, for good or ill, are mightier powers.

It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss of the object , than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist.

Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will - his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.

The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all.

If men were born free, they would, so long as they remained free, form no conception of good and evil.

To what extent is any given man morally responsible for any given act? We do not know.

In fact, it is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason.

Moral liberty is the power of following, in all circumstances, our sense of right and wrong, or of acting in conformity to our reflecting and moral principles, without being controlled by any contrary principles.

When one has genuinely chosen a course for oneself it cannot be possible to hold another responsible for it.

Considering mankind's indifference to freedom, their easy gullibility and their facile response to conditioning, one might very plausibly argue that collectivism is the political mode best suited to their disposition and their capacities. Under its regime, the citizen, like the soldier, is relieved of the burden of initiative and is divested of all responsibility, save for doing as he is told.

I don't believe anyone is good or bad. It's about the choices we make, about how we deal with situations.

Everythings a choice. Nobody's born good. Nobody's born evil. It's always a choice.

I'm not sure I understand how responsibility for our choices makes sense if they are not determined.

Morality pertains only to the sphere of man's free will - only to those actions which are open to his choice.

For a man to act himself, he must be perfectly free; otherwise he is in danger of losing all sense of responsibility or of self- respect.

But in a radically atheist universe, you are not only responsible for doing your duty, You are also responsible for deciding what is your duty.

Another person's life is that person's life. You can't take responsibility.

In terms of morals there is no such thing as ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.

With freedom goes responsibility, a responsibility that can only be met by the individual himself.

Some make light of decisions, arguing that all possible decisions will occur. In such a world, how could one be responsible for his actions? Others hold that each decision must be considered and committed to, that without commitment there is chaos. Such people are content to live in contradictory worlds, so long as they know the reason for each.

There exists in our society widespread fear of judging…[B]ehind the unwillingness to judge lurks the suspicion that no one is a free agent, and hence doubt that anyone is responsible or could be expected to answer for what he has done…Who has ever maintained that by judging a wrong I presuppose that I myself would be incapable of committing it?

And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.

Eve didn't choose to eat the apple. She was tempted by the serpent." "Yes," I argue, thoughts coming out half-formed. "But...she didn't have to take a bite. She chose to.