 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Is there any theoretical ground for preferring one of these groups to another as the basis for the definition of "objective rightness"? I do not see that there is. In a former chapter I defined "right" by reference to the satisfaction of desire in general, that is to say, by taking account of all sentient beings. But I do not know how, by any purely logical argument, to refute a man who maintains that only the desires of Germans should be considered. This view has been refuted on the battlefield, but can it be refuted in the study? When I say that it has been refuted on the battlefield, am I admitting that if Germany had been victorious the view would have been valid? I am naturally reluctant to say this, and I do not believe it, so let us see what there is to be said on the other side.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 5
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