There’s ample human achievement in the universe, but not nearly enough beauty. - Jack Vance

Gassoon, for all his lore, subscribed to a common fallacy: he assumed that all those whom he encountered appraised him in the same terms as he did himself.

“It is simple dog-eat-dog,” said Waylock. It’s basic battle for survival, fiercer and more brutal than ever before in the history of man. You have blinded yourself; you subscribe to false theories; you are permeated with your obsession—not only you but all of us. If we faced the facts of existence, our palliatories would be less crowded.”

You emphasize morality. But the ultimate basis of morality is survival. What promotes survival is good; what induces mortifaction is bad.