 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
I define my interests as all the things that I desire, and therefore, in so far as I desire the welfare of others, this becomes part of my interests. Although, therefore, what determines my action is what I desire, and is in this sense egoistic, it is not necessarily egoistic as regards the objects desired.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 10：Is there ethical knowledge ?
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-1010.htm
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‘I think only of myself (my profit)’ is an accusation, but if we can think of ‘the interests of others as also my own’ (if we can extend our affections that much and have a forgiving heart), we will better understand Russell's aim:‘I define my own interests as all that I desire.
Narrow-minded moralists glorify or overestimate self-sacrifice, but there is a great danger of monologue (kara-mawari) when we assume that we are acting for the benefit of others without understanding them.
A bad example of this are the wartime suicide pilots (tokkotai) and the members of parliament who followed the teachings of the Unification Church for political reasons, many of them were the Abe faction. Both then-Prime Minister Abe's praise of patriotism and Mrs Akie's self-congratulation are products of self-deception that fails to make an effort to understand others (other than those who admire tehm).