 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
When I say: “A right act is one which aims at the greatest possible satisfaction of the desires of sentient beings”, I may be giving a purely verbal definition of “right”, but I certainly imply something more than this. I imply (1) that I feel an emotion of approval towards such acts, (2) that I have an emotion of either impartiality or benevolence or both, which makes me unwilling to value the good of one man more than an equal good enjoyed by another, (3) that my view is one which could be held by all men, which would not be the case if, for instance, I proclaimed my own good to be the summum bonum, and finally (4) that I should wish my view to be held by all men.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 5
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