Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.
Penn JilletteRead
The end never justifies the means because there is no end; there are only means.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the processes we use to achieve our goals are more important than the goals themselves, as life is a continuous journey without definitive ends.
Penn Jillette's quote emphasizes the importance of the methods and approaches we employ in our pursuits, arguing that there is no ultimate endpoint in life. Instead, life is an ongoing series of experiences and choices, highlighting the significance of the means we utilize rather than fixating on the outcomes. This perspective encourages individuals to value the journey and the processes of growth, learning, and ethical decision-making over merely chasing results.
Themes
MeansEndsPhilosophyJourneyProcess
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate about ethical practices in business, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of the methods used.
More from Penn Jillette
All quotes →If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell . . . how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
Penn JilletteRead
People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered, and if we're compassionate we'll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.
Penn JilletteRead
If there's something you really want to believe, that's what you should question the most.
Penn JilletteRead
Similar quotes
The Way is hidden and nameless. Still only the Way nourishes and completes.
LaoziRead
All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.
John Stuart MillRead
A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when better behavior is expected of them.
Jane AustenRead
What needs to be kept in mind is both that capitalism is a hyper-abstract impersonal structure and that it would be nothing without our co-operation.
Mark FisherRead
Why is the truth, it would seem, revealed to some and not to others? Is there a special organ for receiving revelation from God? Yes, though usually we close it and do not let it open up: God’s revelation is given to something called a loving heart.
Seraphim RoseRead
Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. “What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?
J. R. R. TolkienRead