“Compassion is the basis of morality.”

—  Arthur Schopenhauer

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Compassion is the basis of morality." by Arthur Schopenhauer?
Arthur Schopenhauer photo
Arthur Schopenhauer 261
German philosopher 1788–1860

Related quotes

Nadine Gordimer photo

“You can't change a regime on the basis of compassion. There's got to be something harder.”

Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) South african Nobel-winning writer

"'A feeling of realistic optimism': An interview with Nadine Gordimer" by Karen Lazar, Salmagundi 113 (Winter 1997)

David Graeber photo

“A legitimate enterprise had to have some moral basis, and the only morality the company knew was debt.”

David Graeber (1961) American anthropologist and anarchist

Source: Debt: The First 5,000 Years (2011), Chapter Eleven, "Age of the Great Capitalist Empires", p. 350

“What would I do without the moral compass of a teenage werewolf?”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Burns

Confucius photo

“Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.”

Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev photo

“The month of Ramadan carries enduring moral values: humanity, compassion, mercy.”

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (1953) Kazakh politician

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2022) cited in: " President Tokayev Congratulates People on Beginning of Ramadan https://astanatimes.com/2022/04/president-tokayev-congratulates-people-on-beginning-of-ramadan/" in The Astana Times, 2 April 2022.

Karen Armstrong photo

“If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void. (95)”

Karen Armstrong (1944) author and comparative religion scholar from Great Britain

Source: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Coraline Ada Ehmke photo

“The Ruby community has no moral compass. Just aphorisms and self-congtatulatory, masturbatory bullshit.”

Coraline Ada Ehmke technologist, activist, and transgender feminist

Source: CoralineAda On Twitter https://twitter.com/CoralineAda/status/1029170443884945409,

Jack Vance photo

“You emphasize morality. But the ultimate basis of morality is survival. What promotes survival is good; what induces mortifaction is bad.”

Jack Vance book The Last Castle

Source: The Last Castle (1966), Chapter 3, section 2

Ellen DeGeneres photo

“True beauty is about who you are as a human being, your principles, your moral compass.”

Ellen DeGeneres (1958) American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress

Source: Seriously... I'm Kidding

John Perry Barlow photo

“I'm just waiting until one party or the other actually gets a moral compass and a backbone.”

John Perry Barlow (1947–2018) American poet and essayist

Planet JH Weekly interview (2005)
Context: I was always raised to think that Republicans were about limited government, about individual liberty, about fiscal responsibility, about balanced budgets, about a wariness of military adventures abroad, about responsible encouragement to business. There's a whole list of things I thought the Republican Party was all about, and these guys that presently occupy the White House, are categorically against every single one of those things. So if they're Republicans, I'm not. But I'm really not a very comfortable Democrat. I mean the Democrats in the last elections proved themselves to be a bunch of dithering pussies... and it was pathetic. So I'm just waiting until one party or the other actually gets a moral compass and a backbone.

Related topics