In partnership with

Monday, August 4, 2025

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

Imagine you’re faced with a decision where the law says “yes,” but your conscience whispers “maybe not.” That’s the very tension Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart captured in one of his most quoted insights—a distinction that still resonates deeply in today’s world of blurred lines and justifications.

Justice Stewart served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981, weighing in on matters of civil rights, privacy, and freedom of speech. Though he is widely remembered for the famous line “I know it when I see it” in a ruling about obscenity, his quote about ethics leaves a more profound moral legacy.

✅ What You Can Do vs. What You Should Do

This quote is a powerful reminder that legality and morality are not the same thing. Laws set the minimum standard for behavior in a society—what is allowed without punishment. But ethics asks more of us. It asks: Is this fair? Is this kind? Is this just?

Think of these scenarios:

• A corporation avoids taxes through legal loopholes—ethical?

• A landlord evicts tenants legally but with little compassion—ethical?

• A person posts hurtful, though legally protected, speech online—ethical?

Just because the law permits an action doesn’t make it the right action. Ethics lives in the gray areas—the places where our values, integrity, and character must take over.

🧭 Why Ethics Matters Now More Than Ever

In a world increasingly dominated by technicalities, compliance checkboxes, and “doing what’s allowed,” we need more leaders, citizens, and individuals willing to do what’s right, not just what’s permitted. Ethics is the internal compass that guides decisions when external rules fall short.

It's especially critical in:

• Leadership and business, where decisions affect lives, livelihoods, and trust.

• Everyday interactions, where how we treat others shapes our collective humanity.

• Moments of moral courage, when doing the right thing may come at a cost.

When ethics takes a back seat to convenience or personal gain, trust erodes, relationships fracture, and society suffers.

🪞 Your Daily Reminder

Every day presents us with choices: Will we follow the crowd or follow our conscience? Will we ask, “Is it legal?” or go further and ask, “Is it right?”

Choosing ethics over convenience may not always be the easiest path, but it is almost always the most honorable one. As Stewart reminds us, true integrity begins where the law ends—in the quiet spaces of our decisions where only we are watching.

📚 Resources to Deepen Your Ethical Compass

If this topic sparked your curiosity, here are a few powerful resources to explore:

1. Book: Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? – Michael J. Sandel
   A thought-provoking journey through moral philosophy and real-world dilemmas.

2. Article: “The Difference Between Ethics and Law” – Santa Clara University Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
   A clear and concise exploration of how laws and ethics intersect—and diverge.
   https://www.scu.edu/ethics

3. Podcast: The Daily Stoic – Episode on Moral Courage
   Ancient wisdom on standing up for what’s right in a modern world.

4. Video: “What Is the Right Thing to Do?” – Harvard Justice with Michael Sandel (YouTube)
   Engaging lectures that bring ethics alive through interactive thought experiments.

5. Book: The Road to Character – David Brooks
   A deep dive into how internal values shape a meaningful, principled life.