In order to live, man must act; in order to act, he must make choices; in order to make choices, he must define a code of values … He cannot escape from this need; his only alternative is whether the philosophy guiding him is to be chosen by his mind or by chance.
The quote, from Philosophy and Sense of Life by Ayn Rand, is a less pithy (and less fatalistic) version of Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living.”
From A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt:
Margaret: In any State that was half good, you would be raised up high, not here, for what you’ve done already. It’s not your fault the State’s three-quarters bad. Then if you elect to suffer for it, you elect yourself a hero.
Thomas More: That’s very neat. But look now … If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we’d live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all … why then perhaps we must stand fast a little — even at the risk of being heroes.
Now, back to grading essays on business ethics …