--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If merely 'feeling good' could decide…" description: "\"If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png" --- # If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would… ![“If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png) > “If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If feeling good alone decided actions, drunkenness would be universally justified. **In simple terms:** Relying only on feeling leads to absurd outcomes. Key Takeaway Balance feeling with reason. Themes philosophy ethics human nature decision making Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decision making - ethical judgments - self‑control Key Concepts subjective experience rationality moral reasoning Questions to Reflect On - Can feelings alone guide moral choices? - What role should reason play in decisions? A Different Perspective Ignores consequences of harmful behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decide Drunkenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-drunkenness-2417060/) [Drunkenness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/) [Drunkenness Supremely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness-supremely-2417059/) [Feeling good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-good/) [Human experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) [Supremely Valid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supremely-valid-2417061/) ## Related quotes > [Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes. Not through mere perversity do men run after it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/sobriety-diminishes-discriminates-and-says-no-drunkenness-expands/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [Before the Roman came to Rye or out to severn strode, / The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/before-the-roman-came-to-rye-or-out-to-severn-strode-the-rolling/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/when-my-pals-in-high-school-were-starting-to-drink-it-always-looked/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [The secret of drunkenness is, that it insulates us in thought, whilst it unites us in feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-drunkenness-is-that-it-insulates-us-in-thought-whilst/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Drunkeness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkeness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The weather had freshened almost to coldness, for the wind was coming more easterly, from the chilly currents between Tristan and the Cape; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/the-weather-had-freshened-almost-to-coldness-for-the-wind-was-coming/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [“You Are My Drunkenness You are my drunkenness... I did not sober up, as if I can do that; I don't want to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/you-are-my-drunkenness-you-are-my-drunkenness-i-did-not-sober-up-as/) [Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Drunkenness quotes > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Very early in my childhood I associated poverty, toil, unemployment, drunkenness, cruelty, quarreling, fighting, debts, jail with large families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/very-early-in-my-childhood-i-associated-poverty-toil-unemployment/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“You Are My Drunkenness You are my drunkenness... I did not sober up, as if I can do that; I don't want to anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/you-are-my-drunkenness-you-are-my-drunkenness-i-did-not-sober-up-as/) [Nazim Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [“The weather had freshened almost to coldness, for the wind was coming more easterly, from the chilly currents between Tristan and the Cape; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/the-weather-had-freshened-almost-to-coldness-for-the-wind-was-coming/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Drunkenness is an immoderate affection and use of drink. That I call immoderation that is besides or beyond that order of good things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/drunkenness-is-an-immoderate-affection-and-use-of-drink-that-i-call/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Drunkeness is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/drunkeness-is-temporary-suicide-the-happiness-that-it-brings-is/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Drunkenness is the very sepulcher Of man's wit and his discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/drunkenness-is-the-very-sepulcher-of-man-s-wit-and-his-discretion/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [The secret of drunkenness is, that it insulates us in thought, whilst it unites us in feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-secret-of-drunkenness-is-that-it-insulates-us-in-thought-whilst/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/when-my-pals-in-high-school-were-starting-to-drink-it-always-looked/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [ \[Retirement\] is a dangerous experiment, and generally ends in either drunkenness or hypochrondriacism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/retirement-is-a-dangerous-experiment-and-generally-ends-in-either/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Before the Roman came to Rye or out to severn strode, / The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/before-the-roman-came-to-rye-or-out-to-severn-strode-the-rolling/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [Drunkenness doesn't create vices, but it brings them to the fore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-doesn-t-create-vices-but-it-brings-them-to-the-fore/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) [Browse all 288 Drunkenness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkenness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drunkenness-would-be-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drunkenness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drunkenness-would-be-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/william-james-228_drunkenness_if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drun_1038873.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.” — William James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If merely 'feeling good' could decide,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drunkenness-would-be-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-merely-feeling-good-could-decide-drunkenness-would-be-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```