When all that says ‘it is good’ has been debunked, what says ‘I want’ remains.
··· Tags pointing to: instinct ···
Those who stand outside all judgments of value cannot have any ground for preferring one of their own impulses to another except the emotional strength of that impulse.
Listening to Instinct
To listen to that instinct speaking in its own cause and deciding it in its own favor would be rather simple-minded. Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of all the rest. By the very act of listening to one rather than to others we have already prejudged the case. If we did not bring to the examination of our instincts a knowledge of their comparative dignity we could never learn it from them. And that knowledge cannot itself be instinctive: the judge cannot be one of the parties judged; or, if he is, the decision is worthless…