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That Action is best, which procures the greatest Happiness for the greatest Numbers; and that worst, which, in like manner, occasions Misery.

— Francis Hutcheson An Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725)

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Happiness

More quotes by Francis Hutcheson

The ultimate notion of right is that which tends to the universal good; and when one's acting in a certain manner has this tendency, he has a right thus to act.

A System of Moral Philosophy (1755)

Whoever voluntarily undertakes the necessary office of rearing and educating, obtains the parental power without generation.

A System of Moral Philosophy (1755)

Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best Ends by the best Means.

An Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725)

For the ultimate notion of right is that which tends to the universal good; and when one's acting in a certain manner has this tendency he has a right thus to act.

A good man deliberating which of several actions proposed he shall choose, regards and compares the material goodness of them, and then is determined by his moral sense invariably preferring that which appears most conducive to the happiness and virtue of mankind.

A System of Moral Philosophy (1755)

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It is the law of life that if you are kind to someone you feel happy. If you are cruel you are unhappy. And if you hurt someone, you will be hurt back.

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Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Francis Hutcheson (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.