“Humans call animals 'dumb'... after they robbed their entire own precious world. They are intelligent beings in their own right, and thoroughly self-sufficient... if not molested by humans. Yet, after millennia of slavery by selfish/callous humans they're made to look dumb! The 'superior species' in their situations would, too, appear 'dumb'.” IfsWorldHumansLooksMadeSelfAnimalSituationIntelligentSlaverySpeciesSelfishSuperiorsDumbSufficientAnimal RightsSelf SufficientCallous Author:Adela Popescu
“Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast's pleasures; no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus, no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base, even though they should be persuaded that the fool, the dunce, or the rascal is better satisfied with his lot than they are with theirs.” ShouldHumansPersonsFeelingsWould BeHuman BeingsPleasureAnimalChangedFoolPromiseCreaturesConscienceIntelligentSelfishSatisfiedBeastConsentAllowanceBeing SelfishRascalsDunces Book:The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill Source: The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill
“If the impure and the unjust, the drunkard and the licentious, are loathsome to us, what must be the infinite loathing of an infinitely pure Spirit for those who are worldly and selfish, licentious and cruel, ambitious and animal! But with this great loathing is a great pity. And the pity conquers the loathing, appeases it, satisfies it, is reconciled with it, only as it redeems the sinner from his loathsomeness, lifts him up from his degradation, brings him to truth and purity, to love and righteousness; for only thus is he or can he be brought to God.” IfsSpiritAnimalPureInfiniteSelfishPityConquerLiftsPuritySinnerRighteousnessAmbitiousUnjustWorldlyDegradationLoathingDrunkardsAppease Author:Lyman Abbott
“If you want to design a successful human society you need to know what kind of animal we are. Are we a social animal or a selfish animal? Do we respond better when we're solitary or living in a group?” IfsKnowsWantNeedsHumansKindSocialAnimalSuccessfulGroupsDesignSelfishSolitaryHuman Society Author:Frans de Waal
“Love based upon indulgence of animal passion, is at best a selfish affair, and likely to snap under the slightest strain.” LovePassionAnimalAffairSelfishStrainIndulgenceSnaps Book:Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Source: Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
“Immediately upon the fall, the mind of man shrank from its primitive greatness and expandedness, to an exceeding smallness and contractedness... Before, his soul was under the government of the noble principles of divine love, whereby it was enlarged to the comprehensiveness of all his fellow creatures and their welfare... [But] sin, like some powerful astringent, contracted his soul to the very small dimensions of selfishness, and God was forsaken, and man retired within himself, and became totally governed by narrow and selfish principles and feelings.” MenMindSoulFeelingsGovernmentFallSinAnimalPowerfulPrinciplesGreatnessDivineCreaturesFellowsNobleSelfishSelfishnessWelfareDimensionsPrimitiveDivine LoveRetiredForsakenSmallness Author:Jonathan Edwards