 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
If we were really persuaded that pigs are happier than human beings, we should not on that account welcome the ministrations of Circe. If miracles were possible, and we could choose exactly the life that we should prefer, most of us would prefer a life in which we could, at least part of the time, enjoy the delicate delights of art and intellect, to one consisting wholly of houris, wines, and hot baths -- partly, no doubt, from fear of satiety, but not wholly. We do not, in fact, value pleasures in proportion to their intensity; some pleasures seem to us inherently preferable to others.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 9：Is there ethical knowledge ?
More info.:https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-0914.htm
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You may think this is a banal claim and not worth quoting, but I have collected it because both ChatGPT and DeepL misinterpret it.
Quite often, 'if' is an abbreviation of 'even if'. Therefore, the logic of the assertion and the context of the preceding and following relationship (context) need to be taken into account. In this paragraph, ‘If we were really persuaded that pigs are happier than human beings, we should not on that account welcome the ministrations of Circe." is an abbreviation of 'even if ...' and should be translated as ‘Even If we were really persuaded that pigs are happier than human beings, we should not on that account welcome the ministrations of Circe.’ If we translate this as ‘if’, we do not know what we are saying. It is an abbreviation of 'even if' and should mean 'Even if we truly believe that pigs are happier than humans, we should not welcome the services of Circe (note: a yoof in Greek mythology) for that reason. It is supposed to mean 'if'.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)