It appeared to me obvious that the happiness of mankind should be the aim of all action, and I discovered to my surprise that there were those who thought otherwise.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the ultimate goal of all human actions should be the pursuit of happiness, highlighting a surprising divergence in viewpoints.
Bertrand Russell emphasizes that the fundamental aim of all human action should be the happiness of mankind. He expresses his astonishment at discovering that not everyone shares this belief, suggesting a discord in values regarding what should motivate our actions and aspirations. This perspective invites reflection on the ethical considerations surrounding our choices and the importance of prioritizing collective well-being.
In practice
In a speech advocating for social reform, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of prioritizing human happiness in policy-making.
St. Paul introduced an entirely novel view of marriage, that it existed primarily to prevent the sin of fornication. It is just as if one were to maintain that the sole reason for baking bread is to prevent people from stealing cake.
Freedom comes only to those who no longer ask of life that it shall yield them any of those personal goods that are subject to the mutations of time.
Of these austerer virtues the love of truth is the chief, and in mathematics, more than elsewhere, the love of truth may find encouragement for waning faith. Every great study is not only an end in itself, but also a means of creating and sustaining a lofty habit of mind; and this purpose should be kept always in view throughout the teaching and learning of mathematics.
At all times, except when a monarch could enforce his will, war has been facilitated by the fact that vigorous males, confident of victory, enjoyed it, while their females admired them for their prowess.
Moreover, the attitude that one ought to believe such and such a proposition, independently of the question whether there is evidence in its favor, is an attitude which produces hostility to evidence and causes us to close our minds to every fact that does not suit our prejudices.
Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery.
The man is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of life.
There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious. It is too good to waste on jokes.
As long as we think our lives are not good enough (materially), we will not have happiness. As soon as we realize our lives are good enough, happiness immediately appears. That is the practice of contentment.
These days, in our materialistic culture, many people are led to believe that money is the ultimate source of happiness. Consequently, when they donβt have enough of it they feel let down. Therefore, it is important to let people know that they have the source of contentment and happiness within themselves, and that it is related to nurturing our natural inner values.
For now I'm happy the way I am β short and plump. I would not go in for Botox or anything like that. I'm content with the way I look. What's wrong with looking like Susan Boyle? What's the matter with that?
It is only a poor sort of happiness that could ever come by caring very much about our own pleasures. We can only have the highest happiness such as goes along with being a great man, by having wide thoughts and much feeling for the rest of the world as well as ourselves.
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