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“The Cheery and the Damned
Why are drugs, prostitution, gambling and suicide illegal, when they clearly give so much relief to suffering people? I think it is because, at a societal level, we are deluded into thinking that happiness is possible, maybe even easy or likely, without these things. I have called this "cheery social policy.”
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
Why are drugs, prostitution, gambling and suicide illegal, when they clearly give so much relief to suffering people? I think it is because, at a societal level, we are deluded into thinking that happiness is possible, maybe even easy or likely, without these things. I have called this "cheery social policy.”
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
“Refusing to have a child is the highest degree of rebellion, after suicide; one of the best uses of the mind; and the best gift to the planet.”
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“Our evolutionary history ensures that we think in stories. Stories are so central to our thinking that it is hard to think about them. An old fish said to a couple of young fish, "Morning, boys! The water's fine today!" and swam off. One young fish turned to the other young fish and asked, "What's water?”
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
― Every Cradle is a Grave: Rethinking the Ethics of Birth and Suicide
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