Hunter S. Thompson Quotes

Philosophy is fundamentally about how you come to terms with living your life and trying to do it in a wise manner, and, for me, that means decently and compassionately and courageously and so forth.

...virtue is not merely a state in conformity with the right principle, but one that implies the right principle; and the right principle in moral conduct is prudence.

A moral choice in its basic terms appears to be a choice that favors survival: a choice made in favor of life.

Wisdom is an affair of values, and of value judgments. It is intelligent conduct of human affairs.

Morality must be the heart of our existence, if it is to be what it wants to be for us. The highest form of philosophy is ethics. Thus all philosophy begins with "I am." The highest statement of cognition must be an expression of that fact which is the means and ground for all cognition, namely, the goal of the I.

Morality is temporary, wisdom is permanent.

I have never obtained any ethical values from my scientific work.

Conscience is better served by a myth.

I worry that when you start quoting Machiavelli to justify your actions, you have ceased to be one of the good guys. No, quoting Nietzsche does that. Machiavelli is just cool.

But the nature of the universe is such that ends can never justify means. On the contrary, the means always determine the end.

The foundation of morality should not be made dependent on myth nor tied to any authority lest doubt about the myth or about the legitimacy of the authority imperil the foundation of sound judgment and action.

Morality is truth in full bloom.

Ethics is inescapable.

I think in general the ends do not justify the means.

When your principles seem to be demanding suicide, clearly it's time to check your premises

And don't tell me the end justifies the means because it doesn't. We never reach the end. All we ever get is means. That's what we live with.

Economics and ethics have little in common.

Ethics, decency and morality are the real soldiers

There can be no justification for choosing any part of that which one knows to be evil.

Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.

Reason and right give the quickest despatch.

The end never justifies the means because there is no end; there are only means.

But goodness alone is never enough. A hard, cold wisdom is required for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil.

Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.

It isn't right to judge strength as better than good wisdom.