One Bad Night and Chaos of Selfish Desires

Young Sheldon 5×1

Sheldon: As we've established, woods: very scary, me: very scared.

Missy: We licked the same Ring Pop once! It's like it meant nothing.

Connie: Geez. Less monkey, more Clint.

Meemaw: Good news. Your dad's doing okay and should be home in a couple of days.
Missy: Thank God.
Sheldon: Thank modern medicine.

Adult Sheldon: Mother had instructed us to let father relax. And what could be more relaxing than a spirited discussion of societal rules and morality?

George: What's up?
Sheldon: I'm struggling with an ethical crisis.
George: Be a kid. Quit struggling.

Sheldon: Missy and I broke a lot of rules the other night, and we've received no punishment.
George: Buddy, it's been a rough week. We're just glad you're both safe.
Sheldon: But in the absence of a divine being, society's rules are what keeps a person's morality in check.
George: Well, there you go.
Sheldon: No, y-you're not following me. If actions have no repercussions, society breaks down, everything devolves into chaos.
George: You might be overthinking this.
Sheldon: I thought so, too. Then I thought about it, and I'm not.

George: Sheldon, you had one bad night. Just let it go.
Sheldon: But... I did something wrong and I got away with it. That's not okay.
George: Buddy...
Sheldon: Socrates maintained that the man who lies to himself has an enemy living within. He's not even a person. He's just a chaos of selfish desires wrapped in an animal hide.

Meemaw: Oh, moral quandaries. I hate those. Shoot.
Sheldon: You're the least moral person I know... How do you live with yourself?
Meemaw: I'm about to shut this door in your face.

Sheldon: I did something wrong, and yet I've received no punishment. What's my incentive to behave morally if the rules of society aren't being enforced?
Dr. Sturgis: Reminds me of the Ring of Gyges.
Sheldon: I'm not familiar with the Ring of Gyges.
Dr. Sturgis: Oh, it's a delightful brainteaser. Plato asked the question: If you could wear a ring that made you invisible, what would prevent you from committing the most horrendous crimes?
Sheldon: Sounds an awful lot like the Ring of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings.
Dr. Sturgis: Oh. I'm not familiar with The Lord of the Rings.
Sheldon: Oh, it's a delightful series of fantasy books in which there's a ring that makes the wearer invisible but also leads to moral corruption.
Dr. Sturgis: Ooh. Perhaps you should read Plato, and I should read The Lord of the Rings.
Sheldon: You should really start with The Hobbit.
Dr. Sturgis: What's a hobbit?
Sheldon: It's a race of short humanoids who live in burrows and have hairy feet.
Dr. Sturgis: Oh. I've been called that. But I never knew what it was.

Adult Sheldon: In the face of a chaotic world, we all seek comfort in different ways. Some turn to a higher power... Some take refuge in fictitious worlds... And one person I know relied on lighter fluid and a match.
Missy: That's right, burn.

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