I don’t know, I don’t care, and it doesn’t make any difference!
—Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) American Novelist, Poet
Hate is not the opposite of love; apathy is.
—Rollo May (1909–94) American Philosopher
Only one enemy is worse than despair: indifference. In every area of human creativity, indifference is the enemy; indifference of evil is worse than evil, because it is also sterile.
—Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) Romanian-born American Writer, Professor, Political Activist
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts of apathy to one of brotherly love.
—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925) American Encyclopedia Editor, Essayist
Nothing can contribute more to peace of soul than the lack of any opinion whatever.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
The difference between our decadence and the Russians is that while theirs is brutal, ours is apathetic.
—James Thurber
Slums may well be breeding-grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium.
—Cyril Connolly (1903–74) British Literary Critic, Writer
The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: That’s the essence of inhumanity.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
There is nothing harder than the softness of indifference.
—Juan Montalvo (1832–89) Ecuadorian Author, Essayist
If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
God could cause us considerable embarrassment by revealing all the secrets of nature to us: we should not know what to do for sheer apathy and boredom.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
The great menace to the life of an industry is industrial self-complacency.
—David Sarnoff (1891–1972) American Broadcaster, Businessman
I shall stay the way I am because I do not give a damn.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
I have protracted my work till most of those whom I wished to please have sunk into the grave, and success and miscarriage are empty sounds: I therefore dismiss it with frigid tranquillity, having little to fear or hope from censure or from praise.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Wherever there is degeneration and apathy, there also is sexual perversion, cold depravity, miscarriage, premature old age, grumbling youth, there is a decline in the arts, indifference to science, and injustice in all its forms.
—Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) Russian Short-Story Writer
I have a very strong feeling that the opposite of love is not hate—it’s apathy. It’s not giving a damn.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand.
—Bodie Thoene
Apathy is a sort of living oblivion.
—Horace Greeley (1811–72) American Elected Rep, Politician, Reformer, Editor
It means nothing to me. I have no opinion about it, and I don’t care.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
Apathy can only be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.
—Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) British Historian
They act as if they supposed that to be very sanguine about the general improvement of mankind is a virtue that relieves them from taking trouble about any improvement in particular.
—John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838–1923) British Political Leader, Writer, Editor, Journalist
Bad people are less a problem than indifferent people.
—Gerhard Kocher (b.1939) Swiss Publicist, Aphorist
Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same—hardihood. Give them raw truth.
—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933) American Literary Critic, Essayist
Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
You see few people here in America who really care very much about living a Christian life in a democratic world.
—Clare Boothe Luce (1903–87) American Playwright, Diplomat, Journalist, Diplomat, Elected Rep
They believe that nothing will happen because they have closed their doors.
—Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) Belgian Poet, Playwright, Essayist
Everything proceeds as if of its own accord, and this can all too easily tempt us to relax and let things take their course without troubling over details. Such indifference is the root of all evil.
—I Ching Ancient Chinese Divination Text
The worst sin… is… to be indifferent.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Apathy is one of the characteristic responses of any living organism when it is subjected to stimuli too intense or too complicated to cope with. The cure for apathy is comprehension.
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970) American Novelist, Artist