There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation.
Herbert SpencerRead
A man's liberties are none the less aggressed upon because those who coerce him do so in the belief that he will be benefited.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that infringing on someone's freedoms is wrong, even if done with good intentions.
Herbert Spencer emphasizes the principle that one's liberties are violated regardless of the intentions behind the coercion. Even if the aggressor believes that their actions will ultimately benefit the individual, the fundamental right to choose and act freely remains compromised, stressing the importance of individual autonomy and the dangers of paternalism in society.
Themes
LibertyFreedomCoercionAutonomyPaternalism
In practice
Example use cases
Referencing this quote in a debate about government regulations and individual rights.
More from Herbert Spencer
All quotes βNo one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.
Herbert SpencerRead
That feelings of love and hate make rational judgments impossible in public affairs, as in private affairs, we can clearly enough see in others, though not so clearly in ourselves.
Herbert SpencerRead
Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.
Herbert SpencerRead
Organs, faculties, powers, capacities, or whatever else we call them; grow by use and diminish from disuse, it is inferred that they will continue to do so. And if this inference is unquestionable, then is the one above deduced from it-that humanity must in the end become completely adapted to its conditions-unquestionable also. Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity.
Herbert SpencerRead
This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest.
Herbert SpencerRead
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