#justification

On the justification for the war, it wasn't related to finding any particular weapon of mass destruction. ↗

— Stephen Harper

#destruction #finding #justification #mass #particular

The talent for self-justification is surely the finest flower of human evolution, the greatest achievement of the human brain. When it comes to justifying actions, every human being acquires the intelligence of an Einstein, the imagination of a Shakespeare, and the subtlety of a Jesuit. ↗

— Michael Foley

#age

Most people are not prepared to have their minds changed," he said. "And I think they know in their hearts that other people are just the same, and one of the reasons people become angry when they argue is that they realize just that, as they trot out their excuses." "Excuses, eh?" Well, if this ain't cynicism, what is?" Erens snorted. "Yes, excuses," he said, with what Erens thought might just have been a trace of bitterness. "I strongly suspect the things people believe in are usually just what they instinctively feel is right; the excuses, the justifications, the things you're supposed to argue about, come later. They're the least important part of the belief. That's why you can destroy them, win an argument, prove the other person wrong, and still they believe what they did in the first place." He looked at Erens. "You've attacked the wrong thing. ↗

— Iain M. Banks

#belief #erens #excuses #instinct #justifications

When we say that humans have a “right” not to be used for these purposes, this means simply that the interest of humans in not being used as non-consenting subjects in experiments will be protected even if the consequences of using them would be very beneficial for the rest of us. The question, then, is why do we think that it is morally acceptable to use nonhumans in experiments but not to use humans? Vivisection, Part Two: The Moral Justification of Vivisection | Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach http://bit.ly/oREDH0 ↗

— Gary L. Francione

#moral-justification #utilitarianism #vivisection #experience

There is more experience on the field of justification than on the camp of training. Sometimes, you got to take actions to learn more. ↗

— Israelmore Ayivor

#experience #israelmore-ayivor #justification #learn #training

You think the end justifies the means, however vile. I tell you: the end is the means by which you achieve it. Today's step is tomorrow's life. Great ends cannot be attained by base means. You've proved that in all your social upheavals. The meanness and inhumanity of the means make you mean and inhuman and make the end unattainable. ↗

— Wilhelm Reich

#means-and-ends #life

[P]erhaps you notice how the denial is so often the preface to the justification. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#justification #lies #torture #torture

Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line. ↗

— Joseph Conrad

#art #aspires #carry #condition #every

Government, which does not and did not grant us our rights, must not now seek to deny them by using fear as its justification. ↗

— Malcolm Wallop

#did #does #fear #government #grant

If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion. ↗

— Friedrich August von Hayek

#desirability #essential #free #free society #justification