 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Bears love honey, and in a state of nature they cannot easily get it. As a rule, therefore, they get only as much honey as is good for them. But, if they suddenly learnt the art of keeping bees and became able to get as much honey as they wanted, they would presumably all become very ill and perhaps the whole species would die out. Its only hope would lie in the development of an ascetic morality teaching that the pleasure in honey is sinful. This is exactly what has happened with human beings in the case of alcohol.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter 3: Forethought and Skill, n.16
More info.： https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-2_0316.htm
* a brief comment
It would be a disaster if alcohol became available as cheaply and in as large a quantity as tap water. With modern technology it would be possible to produce such a thing, but fortunately humanity has not gone down the road to extinction and is thriving because we have invented an ‘ascetic morality’ that says it is better not to pursue pleasure to excess. Of course, some parts of humanity do pursue excessive pleasure.
* Amazon Gift Card
