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I am too old to make use of the freedom I think should be given to everyone and too loused up by a chaotic and ill-arranged life. But I say that anybody who has been put into this world without having been asked can laugh into the face of anyone who wants to inform him about 'duties', 'obligations' and what have you. I didn't ask to be born. I didn't beg my mother to hop into bed with papa so that I might see the light of day. I didn't beg my parents to take care of me and my teachers to instruct me and so I owe them nothing.
I am too old to make use of the freedom I think should be given to everyone and too loused up by a chaotic and ill-arranged life. But I say that anybody who has been put into this world without having been asked can laugh into the face of anyone who wants to inform him about 'duties', 'obligations' and what have you. I didn't ask to be born. I didn't beg my mother to hop into bed with papa so that I might see the light of day. I didn't beg my parents to take care of me and my teachers to instruct me and so I owe them nothing.
"Second Dialogue", in: Three Dialogues on Knowledge, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991. p.55.
Looking back . . . I conclude that a moral character cannot be created by argument, 'education,' or an act of will. It cannot be created by any kind of planned action, whether scientific, political, moral, or religious. Like true love, it is a gift, not an achievement. It depends on accidents such as parental affection, some kind of stability, friendship, and – following therefrom – on a delicate balance between self-confidence and a concern for others.
Looking back . . . I conclude that a moral character cannot be created by argument, 'education,' or an act of will. It cannot be created by any kind of planned action, whether scientific, political, moral, or religious. Like true love, it is a gift, not an achievement. It depends on accidents such as parental affection, some kind of stability, friendship, and – following therefrom – on a delicate balance between self-confidence and a concern for others.
Killing Time. Chicago – London: University of Chicago Press, 1995. p.174.
Quoted by Sheldon J. Reaven, "Time well spent", in J. Preston - G. Munévar - D. Lamb (eds),
The Worst Enemy of Science? New York - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p.26.
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