Alan Paton Quotes

Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.

I do what I think is right.

Without ethics, man has no future. This is to say, mankind without them cannot be itself. Ethics determine choices and actions and suggest difficult priorities.

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

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.

doing what is right is easy. The problem is knowing what is right

I have only ever followed my conscience.

He who is mistaken in an action which he sincerely believes to be right may be an enemy, but retains our esteem.

You must always do what you feel is right.

If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.

You just have to do what you know is right.

What matters is that you are doing what you think is right based on the standards which you hold.

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.

If the Soviet Government orders me to act against my conscience, I do not obey …. Conscience is above the law. No law which is against the conscience can bind.

My philosophy is different than most of the people up here. I think if you do the right thing and you lose, you still did the right thing. I think if you do less than the right thing and win, it’s morally reprehensible.

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.

Occasionally the conflict between 'what we stand for' and 'what we do' has been forthrightly addressed.

Our moral philosophy determines our values - what we care about and what we don't care about - and our values determine our decisions, actions, and beliefs. Therefore, moral philosophy applies to everything in our lives.

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

If it comes down to your ethics vs. a job, choose ethics. You can always find another job.

Do what's right and you'll please some of the people and astound the rest.

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.

Throughout my life, I have always tried to do what is right.

Conscience has no more to do with gallantry than it has with politics.

Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.