Especially Relative

The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. the happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.

- George Bernard Shaw

Even though for a long time I have found this example logically valid, I realized today that Shaw’s comparison overlooks a vital point. The drunken state amplifies the qualities of the drunkard, not creating harm in itself; a man with malice in his heart will express it in delusion - whether religious or chemical - but another full of love will fill his fantasy with compassion.