The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (whom you may know as the author of Pygmalion) was famous for his one-liners. (Any quotation dictionary will feature hundreds of Shavian remarks.) Here's one that relates to what we've been discussing in class:
"You have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it."
Consider the language of this remark and comment on its implications and applications to daily life.
4 comments:
Upon first look, I just imagined someone eating tons of money and then spitting it up. I decided that was strange and read the quote again, seeing that it implies humans have a role or a duty in their lives that must be fulfilled. Kant had a similar view to this In regards to suicide, basically he says killing yourself is immoral because we were born into society so we must work and produce for society as long as we can. The quote makes me feel as if we all deserve what is coming for us. If I am rude to everyone, then why shouldn’t everyone be rude to me? Its like emotional karma, where you know what’s going to happen if you act a certain way.
This remark suggests you should produce happiness just like how you are obligated to produce wealth in this world. It is definitely a rule that tries to achieve fairness. The people that feel the happiest should be those that provide the most happiness, just like for wealth.
In today's world, it is easier to achieve happiness when you feel your actions are making other people happy. Just like how it is more difficult to spend money if you don't make any. Also, some ways of achieving happiness are looked at as better than others. For example, someone that gets happiness from making something that helps other people will be more respected than someone that consumes drugs for happiness. The former way provides happiness to more people.
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I am assuming Unknown is either Bhaavi or Kelly
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