Barry Lam > Quotes

“Novel circumstances will require judgments based on the reasons behind the rules. People who live out of fear of noncompliance will have no idea what to do in such circumstances. Even worse, they will apply rules in ways contrary to the reasons those rules exist in the first place. They will act unjustly under the cover of law, whether it is in denying coffee or denying freedom. ..The moral quality of an individual and the standards of excellence in athletics, firms, and organizations rest on the quality of reasons motivating people’s actions. There is something highly objectionable about behavior solely or even primarily guided by legal reasoning. People who care for their children because it would be illegal to neglect them are not particularly good people.”
― Barry Lam