4 Quotes by James Rachels

The raw data of anthropologists can be misleading; it can make the differences in values between cultures appear greater than they are...It is only that life forces upon them choices that we do not have to make.

A psychological explanation of our feelings is not a moral explanation of our conduct.

Our triumphs seem hollow unless we have friends to share them, and our failures are made bearable by their understanding.

When we decide what to do, we in effect proclaim our wish that our conduct be made into a “universal law.” Therefore when a rational being decides to treat people in a certain way he decrees that in his judgement, this is the way people ought to be treated. Thus if we treat him the same way in return we are doing nothing more than treating him as he has decided people are to be treated.