第31章

If，however，theindividualisnotlikelytoobtainamaximumofPleasurebyaimingmerelyatPreservation，itremainstoconsiderwhether``quantityoflife’’willserveanybetter。Nowitisofcoursetruethatsofarasnervousactionisattendedbyconsciousnesspleasurableinquality，themorethereisofit，thehappierweshallbe。

Butevenifweassumethatthemoreintenseandfulllifeis``ontheaverage’’

thehappier，itbynomeansfollowsthatweshallgainmaximumpleasurebyaimingmerelyatintensityofconsciousness:forweexperienceintensepainsevenmoreindubitablythanintensepleasures，andinthose``fulltidesofsoul’’，inwhichweseemtobemostalive，painfulconsciousnessmaybemixedinalmostanyproportion。Andfurtherweoftenexperienceexcitementnearlyorquiteneutralinquality(i。e。notdistinctlypleasurableorpainful)，whichreachesagreatpitchofintensity，asinthecaseoflaboriousstruggleswithdifficulties，andperplexingconflictsofwhichtheissueisdoubtful。

Itmay，however，berepliedthat``quantityoflife’’mustbetakentoimplynotmerelyintensityofconsciousness，butmultiplicityandvariety——aharmoniousandmany-sideddevelopmentofhumannature。Andexperiencecertainlyseemstosupporttheviewthatmenlosehappinessbyallowingsomeoftheirfacultiesorcapacitiestobewitheredanddwarfedforwantofexercise，andthusnotleavingthemselvessufficientvarietyoffeelingsoractivities:especiallyasregardsthebodilyorgans，itwillbeagreedthatthedueexerciseofmost，ifnotall，isindispensabletothehealthoftheorganism；andfurther，thatthehealthmaintainedbythisbalanceoffunctionsisamoreimportantsourceoftheindividual’shappinessthantheunhealthyover-exerciseofanyoneorgancanbe。Still，itwouldappearthattheharmonyoffunctionsnecessarytohealthisaveryelasticone，andadmitsofaverywidemarginofvariation，asfarastheorgansundervoluntarycontrolareconcerned。Aman(e。g。)

whoexerciseshisbrainalonewillprobablybeillinconsequence:buthemayexercisehisbrainmuchandhislegslittle，orviceversa，withoutanymorbidresults。And，inthesameway，wecannotlaydowntheproposition，thatavariedandmany-sidedlifeisthehappiest，withasmuchprecisionaswouldbenecessaryifitweretobeacceptedasabasisfordeductiveHedonism。Foritseemstobealsolargelytrue，ontheotherside，thatthemorewecometoexerciseanyfacultywithsustainedandprolongedconcentration，themorepleasurewederivefromsuchexercise，uptothepointatwhichitbecomeswearisome，orturnsintoasemi-mechanicalroutinewhichrendersconsciousnessdullandlanguid。Itis，nodoubt，importantforourhappinessthatweshouldkeepwithinthislimit:butwecannotfixitpreciselyinanyparticularcasewithoutspecialexperience:

especiallyasthereseemsalwaystobeacertainamountofwearinessandtediumwhichmustberesistedandovercome，ifwewouldbringourfacultiesintofullplay，andobtainthefullenjoymentofourlabour。Andsimilarlyinrespectofpassiveemotionalconsciousness:iftoomuchsamenessoffeelingresultsinlanguor，toomuchvarietyinevitablyinvolvesshallowness。

Thepointwhereconcentrationoughttostop，andwheredissipationbegins，variesfrommantoman，andmust，itwouldseem，bedecidedbythespecificexperienceofindividuals。

Thereis，however，anotherandsimplerwayinwhichthemaximof`givingfreedevelopmenttoone’snature’maybeunderstood:i。e。inthesenseofyieldingtospontaneousimpulses，insteadofendeavouringtogovernthesebyelaborateforecastsofconsequences:ascientificjustificationforthiscoursebeingfoundinthetheorythatspontaneousorinstinctiveimpulsesreallyrepresenttheeffectsofpreviousexperiencesofpleasureandpainontheorganisminwhichtheyappear，oritsancestors。Onthisground，ithasbeenmaintainedthatincomplicatedproblemsofconduct，experiencewill``enabletheconstitutiontoestimatetherespectiveamountsofpleasureandpainconsequentuponeachalternative’’，whereitis``impossiblefortheintellect’’todothis:and``willfurthercausetheorganisminstinctivelytoshunthatcoursewhichproducesonthewholemostsuffering’’。[1]ThatthereisanimportantelementoftruthinthiscontentionIwouldnotdeny。Butanybroadconclusionthatnon-rationalinclinationisabetterguidethanreasontotheindividual’shappinesswouldbequiteunwarrantedbyanythingthatweknoworcanplausiblyconjecturerespectingbiologicalevolution。For——overlooki