Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Good reasons and real reasons

A person usually has two reasons for doing something: a good reason and the real reason.
- Thomas Carlyle, historian and essayist (1795-1881)

The "good reason" is usually one that others will accept. The "real reason" is one of personal interest. The latter may be one of greed, of compassion, of curiosity, of conscience-easement or of altruism, but it is usually one that the person prefers to not share with others.

Something to consider when we wonder why someone has done something the way they did.

Bill Allin
'Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems,' striving to take the mystery out of personal relations.
Learn more at http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl

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