Epicurus on death

"Accustom yourself also to think death a matter with which we are not at all concerned, since all good and all evil is in sensation, and since death is only the privation of sensation. On which account, the correct knowledge of the fact that death is no concern of ours, makes the mortality of life … Continue reading Epicurus on death →

John Stuart Mill on race and slavery

From Mill's 1850 essay, 'The Negro Question'. The law of the strongest. 'Your last month’s Number contains a speech against the “rights of Negroes,” the doctrines and spirit of which ought not to pass without remonstrance. The author issues his opinions, or rather ordinances, under imposing auspices, no less than those of the “immortal gods.” … Continue reading John Stuart Mill on race and slavery →

Hume on the tendency of religion to ascetic morality

"The duties, which a man performs as a friend or parent, seem merely owing to his benefactor or children; nor can he be wanting to these duties, without breaking through all the ties of nature and morality. A strong inclination may prompt him to the performance: A sentiment of order and moral obligation joins its … Continue reading Hume on the tendency of religion to ascetic morality →