“Negative ethics asks whether it is possible to live and be ethical, whether there is not some profound mismatch between continuing to live and behaving ethically. Negative ethics asks not how to live ethically but whether we should unconditionally go on living after deciding to be ethical human beings; whether there are permanent ethical motives for staying alive. We no longer ask how to live ethically but whether we can be ethical and continue living.”

—Julio Cabrera, Discomfort and Moral Impediment