quote · Legacy record
I value ethical standards, of course. But in a culture like ours – which devalues or dismisses the reality and power of the inner life – ethics too often becomes an external code of conduct, an objective set of rules we are told to follow, a moral exoskeleton we put on hoping to prop ourselves up. The problem with exoskeletons is simple: we can slip them off as easily as we can don them.
I value ethical standards, of course. But in a culture like ours – which devalues or dismisses the reality and power of the inner life – ethics too often becomes an external code of conduct, an objective set of rules we are told to follow, a moral exoskeleton we put on hoping to prop ourselves up. The problem with exoskeletons is simple: we can slip them off as easily as we can don them.
Approximate author period: c. 1939 AD · modern
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- Author or tradition
- Parker J. Palmer
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- Approximate author period: c. 1939 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Parker Palmer: documented birth year 1939; activity date not established. Wikidata Q7138355, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7138355 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 385381; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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