What Thomas Henry Huxley thinks about government

@thomas-henry-huxley · 17 positions · On ppll ↗

English biologist and advocate of Darwin's theory (1825 to 1895); author of Evolution and Ethics.

Thomas Henry Huxley did not write this page.

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2 dated positions, c. 1893–1894, in their own words. Our reading of what Thomas Henry Huxley has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. c. 1893–1894

   Our readingSelf-restraint, though essential to every society, can ruin it when carried to excess

   Their wordsIt is further to be observed that, just as the self-assertion, necessary to the maintenance of society against the state of nature, will destroy that society if it is allowed free operation within; so the self-restraint, the essence of the ethical process, which is no less an essential condition of the existence of every polity, may, by excess, become ruinous to it.

   ↗Evolution and Ethics: Prolegomena and Romanes Lecture (1893-1894)gutenberg.org All 17 from this book

3. c. 1893–1894

   Our readingStrictly followed, the golden rule would negate law and can be obeyed only under a society that rejects it

   Their wordsStrictly observed, the "golden rule" involves the negation of law by the refusal to put it in motion against law-breakers; and, as regards the external relations of a polity, it is the refusal to continue the struggle for existence. It can be obeyed, even partially, only under the protection of a society which repudiates it.

   ↗Evolution and Ethics: Prolegomena and Romanes Lecture (1893-1894)gutenberg.org All 17 from this book