 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Let us compare two communities, say thirteenth century Italy and modern England. In the former, practically everybody believed that rape led to Hell unless followed by due repentance. In modern England, few believe this. But, if one is to believe Salimbene, monks in thirteenth century Italy were more addicted to rape than any except a few recognized criminals in modern England. I think a broad survey of history makes it extremely doubtful whether such moral precepts as have obvious ethical value are more obeyed where they have the above four-fold authority than in more free-thinking communities.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 10：Is there ethical knowledge ?
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This is so-called authoritarianism. Four authorities are listed: God, the supreme authority, human conscience and truth.
It is easy to assume that when religion was flourishing, people were more moral than they are today, but in fact the opposite is true.