It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.--Thomas Paine
(https://twitter.com/tpmquote/status/1434486479196151808?s=02)
Just added this to the quotes list! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. What is it to be mentally faithful? Is it to turn away from new knowledge, or to simply hold your own and your self to the highest esteem? I wonder.
ReplyDeleteThis quote seems to be referring to lying or hypocrisy in the most basic sense. Professing what one does not believe would seem to necessarily entail both such actions. So, I suppose the question then asks whether a person may be happy while lying or acting in a hypocritical manner, which would appeal to a question of morality.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, for our purposes of analyzing the quote, Pain necessitates mental fidelity for happiness. So, our question must merely be whether a person CAN be happy acting mentally unfaithfully. It is certain that many things can be gained from lying or hypocrisy, such as material and social gains. However, neither of these gains bring about happiness alone, though they may increase one's propensity for it. Now of course, such immoral actions can cause a person to be caught by their fellow man and be outcasted from his or her social circles, but what if they were never caught?
Ao, I think that this gives way to a rather large philosophical question that I will pose here. Can a person lie and cheat their way to happiness if we grant that said person has no guilt brought upon by such actions (I.e., psychopaths, sociopaths) and there was no chance of them being caught?
People can lie and cheat their way to "success" which they may well experience as happiness (or describe as such). But if virtue in the large Greek sense has anything to do with it, they're not flourishing. They're not exemplary humans.
DeleteTo Thomas Paine's point, I'm reminded of another chiull Santayana statement: “Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.”
"Chiull" is of course the southern expression of the concept...
DeleteI think this quote can be viewed through an interesting lens from lgbt people where despite the hardships that come with coming out and being open about who they are I've never met another gay person who has regretted coming out. I've known many that has had that act destroy relationships with friends and family, have then thrown out of their home, or have them be the targets of abuse and assault but I have never met one who regretted it. Looking at it from that perspective it seems to me that personal fidelity is paramount for anyone's happiness because knowledge of truth and living in accordance with it is the only practical method through which we can begin to gain happiness otherwise its just a house built without a foundation.
ReplyDeleteIntegrity is everything for personal happiness. At the end of the day, success can be anything, except for a false sense of success. For those who have no guilt, there is sustained happiness.
ReplyDelete