Decline and Fall of All Evil Quotes

“Certainly.  In other words, no one is compelling a person to work at a job he doesn’t like or remain in a country against his will.  He actually wants to do the very things he dislikes simply because the alternative is considered worse and he must choose something to do among the various things in his environment, or else commit suicide. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“The expression, ‘I did it of my own free will’ is perfectly correct when it is understood to mean ‘I did it because I wanted to; nothing compelled or caused me to do it since I could have acted otherwise had I desired.’  This expression was necessarily misinterpreted because of the general ignorance that prevailed for although it is correct in the sense that a person did something because he wanted to, this in no way indicates that his will is free.  In fact I shall use the expression ‘of my own free will’ frequently myself which only means ‘of my own desire.’  Are you beginning to see how words have deceived everyone?”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“From a superficial standpoint it might still appear that man would take advantage of not being blamed and punished and risk hurting others as a solution to his problems, but this is a mathematical impossibility when he knows that blame and punishment are required for advanced justification.  In other words, the challenge of the law absolves his conscience with threats of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which is payment in full for the risks he takes.  He may risk going to prison or be willing to pay the ultimate price with his life for the satisfaction of certain desires. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“Let me repeat this crucial point because it is the source of so much confusion:  Although man’s will is not free there is absolutely nothing, not environment, heredity, God, or anything else that causes him to do what he doesn’t want to do.  The environment does not cause him to commit a crime, it just presents conditions under which his desire is aroused,”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“There is no comparison between Spinoza and myself.  He was a gentle man, I am not.  He refused to blame his sister for stealing what rightfully belonged to him because he was confused and believed she couldn’t help herself.  I, on the other hand, would never advocate turning the other cheek when someone can get the advantage by not turning it.  He excused her conduct, but if someone tried to take what belonged to me I’d fight him tooth and nail.  Turning the other cheek under these conditions could lead to further harm, which is why most people reject the pacifist position.  How is it humanly possible not to fight back when one is being hurt first, which goes back to the justification of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  I personally would get greater satisfaction defending myself or retaliating against those people who would do, or have done, things to hurt me and my family. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“Both of them were moving in the direction of what gave them satisfaction.  Spinoza’s sister had no understanding of this knowledge nor did the world at that time, although Spinoza himself knew that man’s will is not free.  Consequently, he allowed others to hurt him with a first blow by turning the other cheek.  He was excommunicated from the synagogue while being God-intoxicated, which seems to be a contradiction.  You would think that a person would be thrown out for being an atheist but not for being a God-intoxicated man. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“Consequently, when any person says he was compelled to do what he did against his will, that he really didn’t want to but had to because he was being tortured, he is obviously confused and unconsciously dishonest with himself and others because he could die before being forced to do something against his will.  What he actually means was that he didn’t like being tortured because the pain was unbearable so rather than continue suffering this way he preferred, as the lesser of two evils, to tell his captors what they wanted to know, but he did this because he wanted to not because some external force made him do this against his will.  If by talking he would know that someone he loved would be instantly killed, pain and death might have been judged the lesser of two evils. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“the words good and evil are judgments of what others think is right and wrong, not symbols of reality.  The truth of the matter is that the words good and evil can only have reference to what is a benefit or a hurt to oneself.  Killing someone may be good in comparison to the evil of having that person kill me.  The reason someone commits suicide is not because he is compelled to do this against his will, but only because the alternative of continuing to live under certain conditions is considered worse. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“Therefore, when any person says he was compelled to do what he did against his will, that he didn’t want to but had to — and innumerable of our expressions say this — he is obviously confused and unconsciously dishonest with himself and others because everything man does to another is done only because he wants to do it, done to be humorous, of his own free will, which only means that his preference gave him greater satisfaction at that moment of time, for one reason or another.”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times

“Consequently, determinism was faced with an almost impossible task because it assumed that heredity and environment caused man to choose evil, and the proponents of free will believed the opposite, that man was not caused or compelled, ‘he did it of his own accord; he wanted to do it, he didn’t have to.’  The term ‘free will’ contains an assumption or fallacy for it implies that if man is not caused or compelled to do anything against his will, it must be preferred of his own free will. ”
― Seymour Lessans, Decline and Fall of All Evil: The Most Important Discovery of Our Times