Response To "The Four Desires" Article

In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Bertrand Russell made a bold claim. Russell claimed that there were four central aspirations that are fundamental to every human. Those aspirations are acquisitiveness, rivalry, vanity, and love of power. Russell explains why he thinks every of these four aspirations is fundamental to every person. Although I agree with him for some parts, I do believe that there are some mistakes in his statement.

Although, yes, for a good portion of the population, acquisitiveness is engrained in their DNA, I can think of many people who don't embody this trait in the slightest. Yes, we all know of many celebrities who wish to keep on raking in more money, as if even hundreds of millions isn't enough, But, I bet we can also all think of one or a few people in our life who are very content with what they have and feel little to no need to continue acquiring things past a certain point of happiness. Russell also states that "...a great many men will cheerfully face impoverishment if they thereby secure complete ruin for their rivals". This is a statement I strongly disagree with. There is a lot of data that proves the contrary of this point: humans feel compassion for one another and feel significantly better by helping their neighbors. Although, there are people who I'm sure embody Russell's ideas of rivalry and vanity, I believe it is human nature to want to help out your neighbors in a time of need.

Although I disagreed with some of his previous points, I am in full agreement that love of power is a fundamental aspect of being human. I believe every man or woman, regardless of their views, would like to be respected and looked up to in life. There is no better feeling in life than knowing your ideas resonate with a group of people and you are looked up to as a person of power. Although some people want power for malicious reasons, such as Hitler, there are many people who want power for quite the opposite. Such examples are Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln. Some people want power to make positive change in the lives of those around them.

Although Russell's points do hold weight with regards to some of the population, I believe he has a very cynical view of humanity. Yes, there are always going to be people who only look out for themselves and hope for the demise of others, but deep down it is our human nature to not only want the best for ourselves, but for those around us. I think Russell widely ignores this point and needs to be a little more optimistic about human nature.