 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Against our definition of "good" as "satisfaction of desire” an objection might be raised on the ground that some desires are evil and their satisfaction is a further evil. The most obvious example is cruelty. Suppose A desires that B should suffer, and succeeds in satisfying his desire; is this good? Clearly the whole state of affairs is not good, and our definition does not imply that it is good. B’s desires are not satisfied, and no more are those of normal people who have no animus against B. A’s satisfaction is a source of dissatisfaction to others, and A’s desire that B should suffer is one which most people will desire not to exist, unless B is a person who has incurred the hatred of the community.
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