Peter Kreeft Quotes

All universal moral principles are idle fancies.

Those who have no absolute values cannot let the relative remain merely relative; they are always raising it to the level of the absolute.

In argument about moral problems, relativism is the first refuge of the scoundrel.

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that morality is not just a matter of opinion.

The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this: Nature, which is the nuts-and-bolts reality for the atheist, has no values and thus can offer no grounding for good and evil. Values on the atheist view are subjective and contingent.

It may not have the virtuous ring of the golden rule, but the maxim 'never say never' is one of the most important in ethics.

One needs to know what is right and what is wrong.

I have a pretty keen ethical compass.

My parents are naive in their morality of things, and so, without realising it, I landed up being ethical and having strong opinions.

Right and wrong as moral principles do not change. They are applicable and reliable determinants whether the situations with which we deal are simple or complicated. There is always a right and wrong to every question which requires our solution.

I want to give moral relativism the good spanking it deserves.

How are you going to teach virtue if you teach the relativity of all ethical ideas? Virtue, if it implies anything at all, implies an ethical absolute. A person whose idea of what is proper varies from day to day can be admired for his broadmindedness, but not for his virtue.

I don't subscribe to relativism, whether it's in political philosophy, foreign policy or in life.

Moral relativism has a reputation for being compassionate, caring and humane, but it is an extremely useful philosophy for tyrants.

You know, there's a right and wrong way to do everything.

Abstractions about right and wrong, whether they are as old as Thou Shalt Not Kill or as modern as Do Your Own Thing, often serve only to confuse and weaken genuine moral decision.

There being no absolute and universal standard of right, terrorism must be held to be wrong in every case.

The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.

I'm not any more moral than my neighbors.

To make your people understand what righteousness is, this must be the basis of all your teaching.

The atheist is cheating whenever he makes a moral judgment, acting as though it has an objective reference, when his philosophy in fact precludes it.

Right and wrong are not simply matters of evolutionary impacts and what is natural.

Know the difference between principles based on right or wrong vs. principles based on personal gain, and consider the basis of your own principles.

If your morals make you dreary, depend on it, they are wrong.

The imperative is to define what is right and do it.