Much of what goes by the name of pleasure is simply an effort
to destroy consciousness. If one started by asking, what is
man? what are his needs? how can he best express himself?
one would discover that merely having the power to avoid work
5 and live one’s life from birth to death in electric light and
to the tune of tinned music is not a reason for doing so. Man
needs warmth, society, leisure, comfort and security: he also
needs solitude, creative work and the sense of wonder. If he
recognized this he could use the products of science and
10 industrialism eclectically, applying always the same test:
does this make me more human or less human? He would then
learn that the highest happiness does not lie in relaxing,
resting, playing poker, drinking and making love simultaneously.