You can't understand Twenty-first-Century Politics with an Eighteenth-Century Brain.
George LakoffRead
Do we really think that the United States will have the protection of innocent Afghans in mind if it rains terror down on the Afghan infrastructure? We are supposedly fighting them because they immorally killed innocent civilians. That made them evil. If we do the same, are we any less immoral?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the morality of causing harm to innocents while opposing those who do the same.
George Lakoff's quote challenges the ethical implications of using violence against innocent civilians in Afghanistan, highlighting the hypocrisy of retaliating against perceived evil while engaging in similar immoral acts. It provokes thought regarding the justification of actions taken in the name of justice and raises questions about the values held by nations that justify such actions.
Themes
MoralityViolenceInnocenceHypocrisyJustice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about military ethics.
More from George Lakoff
All quotes →Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature.
George LakoffRead
The mind is inherently embodied._x000D_ Thought is mostly unconscious._x000D_ Abstract concepts are largely metaphorical.
George LakoffRead
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