“If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing.”

Bk. 3, Ch. "Like They Say, It's Bounce Or Break"
The Shockwave Rider (1975)

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Do you have more details about the quote "If there is such a phenomenon as absolute evil, it consists in treating another human being as a thing." by John Brunner?
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John Brunner 147
British author 1934–1995

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“Leona Helmsley is a truly evil human being. She treated employees worse than any human being I've ever witnessed and I've dealt with some of the toughest human beings alive.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

"Donald Trump: Playboy interview" , Playboy magazine, March 1990. http://www.popeater.com/2009/09/30/donald-trump-insults/
Helmsley retorted "I can't wait to read Trump's new book, especially chapter eleven!". At the time, Trump's casino holdings were being reorganized to avoid bankruptcy.
"Leona Helmsley: Playboy interview" , Playboy magazine, November 1990. http://www.glennplaskin.com/leona.pdf
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“The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A being that is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church

Variant translation: Now slavery has a certain likeness to death, hence it is also called civil death. For life is most evident in a thing's moving itself, while what can only be moved by another, seems to be as if dead. But it is manifest that a slave is not moved by himself, but only at his master's command.
Chapter 14 https://www.pathsoflove.com/aquinas/perfection-of-the-spiritual-life.html#chapter14
On The Perfection of the Spiritual Life https://www.pathsoflove.com/aquinas/perfection-of-the-spiritual-life.html (1269-1270)
Original: (la) Vita enim in hoc maxime manifestatur quod aliquid movet se ipsum; quod autem non potest moveri nisi ab alio, quasi mortuum esse videtur.

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“Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.”

Variant: And sin, young man, is when you treat people like things.
Source: I Shall Wear Midnight

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“Guns are not the root cause of man's evil actions… Evil is part of the human condition, always has been, always will be. Evil can't be wished away, treated away, medicated away or legislated away. Evil is here to stay. Bad people do bad things. Deal, as they say in the hood.”

Ilana Mercer South African writer

"Gun Violence? No! Goon Violence," http://www.unz.com/imercer/gun-violence-no-goon-violence/ The Unz Review, September 4, 2015.
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“We may not be able to stop evil in the world, but how we treat one another is entirely up to us.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2011, Tucson Memorial Address (January 2011)
Context: We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
Context: I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

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“The greatness of the human being consists in this: that it is capable of the universe.”

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