There's no difference between a pessimist who says, "Oh it's hopeless, so don't bother doing anything." and an optimist who says, "Don't bother doing anything, it's going to turn out fine anyways. Either way, nothing happens."
Yvon ChouinardRead
Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and the opportunity to do good and you do nothing, that can be evil.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Evil can manifest not just through direct harmful actions, but also through inaction when one has the means to do good.
This quote by Yvon Chouinard emphasizes the idea that simply refraining from doing good can be considered an evil act. It challenges the notion that evil is only associated with overtly negative actions, suggesting that a lack of action in the face of an opportunity to help can be equally culpable. This perspective invites individuals to reflect on their responsibilities towards societal good and highlights the moral implications of inaction.
Themes
EvilGoodInactionResponsibilityMoralPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social responsibility, a speaker may quote this to emphasize the importance of taking action against injustices.
More from Yvon Chouinard
All quotes →I think risk is important. I don't care if it's a great financial risk or a physical risk. You only get out of something what you put into it and the fact that you are willing to risk something means that you are going to get a lot more out of it.
Yvon ChouinardRead
The solution may be for a lot of the world's problems is to turn around and take a forward step. You can't just keep trying to make a flawed system work.
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We're a part of nature. As we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. It's a selfish thing to want to protect nature.
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The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world.
Yvon ChouinardRead
The reason it was so scary was that there was only one climber capable of rescuing us, and that was Layton Kor, and he was in Colorado.
Yvon ChouinardRead
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