🧠 By own beliefs 🧠 By own view

by one's lights

8.9

In the way someone thinks is right

idiom

: según su propio criterio

He always does what he thinks is right, by his lights.

Examples

He chooses to live by his lights and not conform to society.
They judged the situation by their lights and chose a cautious approach.
She acted by her lights and made the best decision she could.
She always acts by her lights when making decisions.
He always does what he thinks is right, by his lights.
She acted by her lights and made the best decision she could.
They judged the situation by their lights and chose a cautious approach.

Synonyms

by one's own lights

vsby one's lights

8.6

According to what someone thinks is right

is the shorter phrasing that lacks the extra emphasis on personal belief

Surface Forms

by one's lights main

Morphology

by + one + light

The phrase uses 'light' metaphorically to mean understanding or guidance and the prepositional pattern 'by one's X' signals acting according to a standard, so a learner who knows the constituents might infer a rough sense. However, the plural 'lights' as 'guiding beliefs' is somewhat literary/idiomatic and not an immediately productive composition for a B1 learner, making the relation only partially predictable.

Etymology

The phrase by one's lights may come from the image of a small lamp or an inner light that helps a person 'see' what is right. So, to act by one's lights means to do what you think is right.