Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

Dave — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:49:27 +0000

If, as I suggested before, the ability to tell right from wrong should turn out to have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to “demand” its exercise from every sane person, no matter how erudite or ignorant, intelligent or stupid, he may happen to be.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)
(Source)

Originally published as an essay (1977-11-14), "Thinking -- I," The New Yorker (1977-11-21).

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)
(Source)

Sometimes shortened as: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

Originally printed as an essay (1977-11-28), "Thinking -- III," The New Yorker (1977-12-05). That version is slightly longer:

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or bad or to do either good or evil.

WIST Quotations

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)