Epictetus Quotes

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

An act has no ethical quality whatever unless it be chosen out of several all equally possible.

The act of willing this or that, of choosing among various courses of conduct, is central in the realm of ethics.

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

To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less.

While early childhood experiences may impel, they do not compel. In the end, evil is a matter of choice.

I don't believe in good human beings, but I believe you can have structures that make it easier to make the right choice or the wrong choice.

The more...we consider man to be free, the less we can say, that he can neglect to use reason, or choose evil in preference to good

To see the line between being good and bad is really thin. It's not easy for anyone, not the manager, the players or the staff.

Here in St. Cloud’s,” Dr. Larch wrote, “ I have been given the choice of playing God or leaving practically everything up to chance. It is my experience that practically everything is left up to chance much of the time; men who believe in good and evil, and who believe that good should win, should watch for those moments when it is possible to play God – we should seize those moments. There won’t be may

Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.

No intelligent man believes that anybody ever willingly errs or willingly does base and evil deeds; they are well aware that all who do base and evil things do them unwillingly.

All moral laws are merely statements that certain kinds of actions will have good effects.

I think that technologies are morally neutral until we apply them. It's only when we use them for good or for evil that they become good or evil.

Morality may consist solely in the courage of making a choice.

Wisdom we know is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.

There is no right in acting.

There is but one right, and the possibilities of wrong are infinite.

How can an act done under compulsion have any moral element in it, seeing that what is moral is the free act of an intelligent being?

No one is born evil; it's just the choices that they make.

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or evil.

There is no rational creature which is not capable both of good and evil

Even if trolley problems were a realistic concern for AVs, it is not clear what, if anything, regulators or companies developing AVs should do about them. The trolley problem is an intensely debated thought experiment precisely because there isn't a consensus on what should be done.

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

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.