For LaVey, the human being was explicitly viewed as an animal, who thus has no purpose other than survival of the fittest, and who therefore exists in an amoral context. He believed that in adopting a philosophical belief in its own superiority above that of the other animals, humankind has become "the most vicious animal of all". For LaVey, non-human animals and children represent an ideal, "the purest form of carnal existence", because they have not been indoctrinated with Christian or other religious concepts of guilt and shame. His ethical views focused around placing oneself and one's family before others, minding one's own business, and – for men – behaving like a gentleman. In responding to threats and harm, he promoted a policy of "lex talionis", for instance reversing a Biblical Christian teaching by stating that "if a man smite thee on the one cheek, "smash" him on the other", derived from Ragnar Redbeard's infamous book "Might is Right".