I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are.

Pullman rejects a dualistic, externalized view of morality—where “Good” and “Evil” are cosmic forces acting upon humanity—and replaces it with an ethical humanism grounded in agency and behavior. The quote insists that moral value attaches to actions (“what people do”) rather than to essential, fixed identities (“what they are”). This shifts judgment away from labeling persons as inherently wicked or virtuous and toward evaluating choices, consequences, and responsibility. It also implies the possibility of change: if goodness and evil are not innate substances but descriptions of conduct, then people can act differently and be judged differently. The stance aligns with Pullman’s broader critique of metaphysical moral absolutism and his emphasis on lived, worldly ethics.