We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the moral obligation humans have towards animals and criticizes the denial of their rights.
Arthur Schopenhauer's quote highlights the deep ethical implications of how society views and treats animals. He argues that dismissing their rights and significance reveals a barbaric aspect of Western civilization. In contrast, he posits that the foundation of true morality lies in universal compassion - an understanding that extends beyond human beings to encompass all sentient beings.
Themes
AnimalsRightsMoralityCompassionEthics
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on animal rights at a conference.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes →To be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
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Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.
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Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
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