In a previous Thanksgiving post that first appeared in 2016, I noted that a 1975 article in Ethics by Fred Berger (then a philosopher at UC Davis), “Gratitude“, begins with the following:
Gratitude is not a subject much discussed in the philosophical literature, though hardly a book or article is published without some expression of gratitude by the author for the help of others. From the literature, one would have to conclude that gratitude plays a role in our moral life which, with only a few exceptions, philosophers have not seen fit to explore.
I then pointed to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry, “Gratitude,” by Tony Manela (Sienna University), which had just been published the year before, noting how things have changed.
I recently looked at it, and it has been updated since then (in 2019).
There are also now many articles on the subject — in case you’re looking for some further philosophical reading that’s fitting for the day.
Happy Thanksgiving, philosofriends!
Thank you!
I posted this ten years ago at the Ratio Juris blog:
Thoughts, Maxims & Proverbs for Thanksgiving (or any daily mealtime)
“Enough is as good as a feast.” — Sir Thomas Malory (d.1471)
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” — John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
“Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.” — of Spanish provenance
“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.” — of Vietnamese provenance
“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” — Alice Walker
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ” — William Arthur Ward (1921-1994)
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust
“Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” — Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821 – 1881)
“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” — Johannes Gaertner (1912 – 1996)
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” — Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” — Cicero
“Gratitude is the moral memory of mankind.” — Georg Simmel
“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” — John Henry Jowett
Before Alice Walker Meister Eckhart said “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” And that is my only prayer.
Speaking of gratitude:
https://youtu.be/ncs-Z9eWbYk?si=ooMEW38NMF9jDgiT
appreciate the space you keep up for us here, best in the coming year.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2025/11/25/professor-texas-used-to-have-universities/