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“Happiness is not, except in very rare cases, something that drops into the mouth, like a ripe fruit. Happiness must be, for most people, an achievement rather than a gift of the gods, and in this achievement, effort, both inward and outward, must play a great part.”
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“However unpleasant the truth may be, it’s better to face it once for all, to get used to it, and to proceed to build your life in accordance with it.”
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“We’re apt to mistake the strength of our feelings for the strength of our arguments. The heated mind resents the chill touch and relentless scrutiny of logic.”
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“Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it’s more inconvenient to try to conceal it.”
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“Ethical propositions are those that invoke the notion of (morally) good or bad, or right or wrong.” [1] The following are examples:
Russell wasn’t sure whether ethical propositions ought to be categorized as knowledge ― not to say he didn’t think they were important!
[Pannenkoek] “So in other words, he thought knowledge should be reserved for ‘absolute’ truths, whereas ethical propositions are subject to the whims of humanity and so they’re more fickle.”
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“I cannot see how to refute the arguments for the subjectivity of ethical values, but I find myself incapable of believing that all that’s wrong with deliberate and unprovoked cruelty is that I don’t like it.”
[Pannenkoek] “So in other words, he wanted to refute them but couldn’t figure out how, yet he thought there must be an objective reason why cruelty is bad. For whatever reason, his search for a non-subjective ethics makes me think of Sozen’s search for the Avatar in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
So, is there a resolution to it?”
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“Like other animals, we’re adapted to a certain amount of struggle in life, and the ability to gratify all of one’s whims without effort removes something essential. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.”
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Citations
- (various sources)
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philosophicaltreasures.com 