A quick test of the assertion that enjoyment outweighs pain in this world, or that they are at any rate balanced, would be to compare the feelings of an animal engaged in eating another with those of the animal being eaten
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- To test if pleasure outweighs pain, compare an animal's joy in eating prey with the prey's suffering.
- In plain terms
- Compare a predator's enjoyment of eating with the victim's pain to see which is greater.
- What can you take from it?
- Consider both sides of an action when judging its moral weight.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you weigh benefits against harms?
- Can you apply this test to human actions?
Another view
Human contexts often involve more complex factors than animal predation.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
There is no doubt that life is given us, not to be enjoyed, but to be overcome - to be got over.
Permalink to quote #71 Hatred comes from the heart; contempt from the head; and neither feeling is quite within our control.
Permalink to quote #73 In youth it is the outward aspect of things that most engages us; while in age, thought or reflection is the predominating quality of the mind. Hence, youth is…
Permalink to quote #70
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