PRAOL[ I .Y.

tHUX ~' 11:; l,_il,I AR'

l' SHOP
Hin du C o lleg e De lhi
All R eac Jin g Ava ilab
le
81 30 46 24 24 , 7 ()4
22 23 16 ::,

Ch ap ter II I
TH E DE VE LO PM EN
T OF M OR AL IT Y
1
§ • Levels of Development
W e m ay d 1· f •h
m en t of ~ in gw s be tw ee n t h ree sta ge s in
th at morah_ty; (a ) th e lev th e de ve lop -
hi s fia pp ea rs n gh t to th e a geel of in sti nc t, in wh ic h th e co nd uc t
d - ':~d~ m en ta l n ee ds ~ is th e cond uc t de ter m
an in ed by
th_sc n e by M cD ou ga d in sti nc ts · th e in na te te
ll; nd encie s
e co nd uc t th at ap p ea (b ) th e lev el of cu st: om , in wh ich
rs rig ht to th e ag en t
~c ~o rd an ce w ith th e cu is co nd uc t in
sto ms of th e gr ou p to w hi
an ( c) th e le ve l of co ch h e be lo ng s ;
ns cie I1 ce in wh ich th e
ap pe ar s ~ig ht to th e a co nd uc t th at
ge nt is th at a p pr ov ed
d iv id ~a l Ju dg em en t of b y hi s ow n in -
wb
su ffi ci en t gr ou nd s to m ai at is rig ht an d wr on g . W e ha ve no
stag 0 nt ai n th at th e de ve lo pm
e ~ 17v_el to an ot he r en t fro m on e
m os t pn m 1t iv e so cie tie s is a hi sto ric al de ve lo pm en t. Th e
wi th wh ic h we ar e ac qu
pr es en t. da y sh ow ap pr ai nt ed at th e
ov al of a gr ea t cle al of
1n ac co rd an ce ·w ith th e cu sto m of th e co nd uc t th at is
ce rn ed , an d th .er e ar e pa rti cu la r so cie ty co n-
so m e m at te rs ev en in
su
dg em en t se em s to pr ov id ch so cie tie s
i.. vh ere th e in di vi du al ju
of rig ht ne ss an d ·w To ng ne e th e stc rn da rd
ss. A nd ev en in th e m
so ci et y th er e ,v ill be os t ad va nc ed
m an ife sta tio ns of th e
W he n a m an 'se es re d' , le ve l of in sti nc t.
fo r th e m ome nt th e th in g
hi m th e on ly ap pr op ria th at se em s to
te th in g to do is an ac
w hi ch is ap pr ov ed ne ith t of vi ol en ce
er by th e st an da rd s of hi
by hi s ow n re fle ct iv e ju dg s gr ou p no r
em en t w he n he is in a ca
of m in d. Th e m os t lm er sta te
co ns ci en tio us in di vi du
so ci et y is lik el y in m os al in a m od er n
t m at te rs to · fo llo w th e
gr ou p w ith ou t reflec~ion, cu sto m s of ~i s
· m at te rs to ad op t de lib
an
d on ly in on e 01 · tw o . sp
er a~ el y a ne w st an da rd ec ia l
di ff er en t fr om th at of of hi s o,v~,
th os e ar ou nd hi m . W
th is ch ap te r de sc rib in g a e ar c ra ther 1n
lo gi ca l or de r in th e de ve
th e m or al ju dg em en t, a nd lo pm en t of
, in so do in g, :w e a r e in
da nger of
 Tlt e Dtl'dop111<'llf of .Horalil)• 57
. · , actual
lications to be foun d in mens
ignvnng the many c?mp l , 1 f development.
judgement9 at the different c\e so

§!2 . The Lt11el of b1stinct . f

d' · tures have been given ° i
Two apparentl~ C?~tra ,cto_ry pie Th French hilosopher
man in his most pnm1nvc condition. c p d ood
R ousseau held that man was natnrally 00t h [rec an ~fi i~
a nd that the primitive life of man, f~e frQID . th~ a r.ti ~ of
restrictions p laced on him by the customs and mSt1tut~rtn d
societu , ... ns a life of idyllic peace, harmony, good_\V 1 ahner
ha ppiness. On the other hnnd, the Eng 1·is h P h1 1osop
_ 1 ._,
___...
l th
Hobbes held that natural man seeks only' that wl_lich P case
hirnand is deli ghtful to himself'. Every man feels b 'nat~~e
that he has a right to ~l things, an , as all afc natura ~
acquisitive and ferocious, they are bound ~o _be 1n a st at~ 0
w«r with one another. The state of nature 1s intolerabl e- no
place for industry because the fruit thereof is uncertain . •. • no
arts, no letters, no society, and, which is worst of all, continual
fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish and short' . 1
In these pictures of primitive human nature, Rousseau is
leaving out certain of the instinctive tendencies· which modern
psychologi sts have found 1n human nature, such as the in-
stincts of pugnacity, ~elf-assertion and acquisitiveness, while
Hobbes is leaving out others of these tendencies, such as the
gregarious instinct, the parenjal instinct, which .soon -becomes
attache6 to other objects than the actual offspring of its
owner, and the general innate tendencies to feel sympathy
with others, to imitate them and to accept suggestions from
them. It is in the life of the lower animals that we find a life
nearest to the purely instinctive level, and we may admit that,
in c01nparison ,vith the life of a cultured human society, the
life of even the most developed animal group is nasty, brutish
and poor. Yet the life of the lo,ver animals is not altogether
an unceasing conflict among competing instincts within an
individual, or a struggle for existence among different
!ndividuals of the same animal species. The gregarious
instinct, and the various general tendencies connected ,vith it,
are found jn many animal species, and there appears to be a
1
Hobbes; wiathan, Pt. I, Ch. 13.
 . PRAOEEP xrn ox; s·rATIUNARY SHO
58 P
Hindu Col:eo e. De \hi
An Introduction lo All R ea din u A v a ilab le
Ethics 81 30 46 24 2 4 .' 7042 22
ki nd of un co ns c· 3✓.6?
in sti nc ts . hi iou~ ten dc
wh en m ·w~t . n a smglc n: y to ha rm on y am on g the va rio us
am m al or ga nis m. In de ed
of cl . an s in na te ten de , it
nc ies be co me co ns cio us in is on \y
be aet~r~; ~~a~ we find. th os th e fo rm
sis of ou e pa inf ul co nf lic ts
se au se em r Ju dg em en ts of rig ht an dwh ich ap pc aT to
h s to ha v wr on g. Ro us •
. . e thou g h t t h at th er e wa .
rm or uz in g of th e in sti nc s an un
0 ts to be founcl in pr im itico ns cio us
~• ~a y ha ve ha d a my sti ca ve m an ,
_as l sen se of un ity wi th na tu re th at
en _ lo_st bo th by sa va ge s
tim es ; _th1_s 1s wh at Levy an d civ ili ze d m en in m od er n
Br uh l ca lls th e la w of pa
~h er e l~ lit tle ev id en ce of rti cip ati on .
su ch a ha rm on izi ng po we
tive society, alt ho ug h we ar r in pr im i-
c pr ob ab ly rig ht in th in ki
ng
~he sa va ge s kno'\vn to us ar
e th e result of de gr ad at io n an th at
in n:iany wa ~s from re all d di ffe r
y pr im iti ve peoples. Th e
th ~ in sti nc ts 1n th e tri be co nt ro l of
s we re ga rd .as pr im iti ve
ta in ed by an e~aborate is of ten m ai n-
cu sto m ar y m or al ity , re in
th rra tc ne d pu m sh m en ts fo rc ed by
tabus, as th ey ar e of ten ca
fro m a su pe rn at ur al sp he re , or
lle d.
It is c?m1:1only th ou gh t
th
le~cl of 1n st1 n~ t ca nn ot be at th«i co nd uc t of an im als at th e
re ga rd ed as rig ht or wr on
sa id to be ne ith er m or al g. It is
no r im m or al bu t am or
m or ~l , co nd uc t to wh ic al or no n-
h m or al pr ed ic at es ar e
ap pl ic ab le at all. Th er e no t re al ly
is no m ot iv at io n by th e ju
of w ha t is rig ht or by th e dg em en t
sense of du ty as ,v e find
hu m an beings. Ye t it is th em in
re as on ab le to su pp os e th at
di m ,v ay th e an im al re ga rd in so
s th e carrying ou t of th e insti m e
im pu lse as th e rig ht th in g nc
to do. It is in th is wa y at ·a tive
th at in st in ct iv e impulses ny ra te
ap pe ar to hu m an beings.
im pu lse of an in sti nc t revca1 'T he
s itself as an ax io m at ic al ly ob
pr op os iti on , as so m et hi ng vious
w hi ch is so cl ea rl y" sense,,
id ea of discus~ing its ba sis th at an y
is wi ck ed or fo ol ish .' 1 It
wa y th at it seems ob vi ou is in this
s to th e an gr y m an th at he
· ta ke ve ng ea nc e on his op s~ou\d
po ne nt . Fr om an ot h~ r p~
vi ew at th e le ve l of in st in 1nt of
ct , th e in flu en ce of ou tsi de
stan~es se em s. to pr ed om c1rcum-
in at e over th e in ne r na tu
an im al an d ·th er e is no th re of _the
in g th at w e ca n call free
,v ith s~fficicnt knowle ch oi ce ;
dge of the an im al 's in ne r
of th e ou ts id e causes af fe ct ~a~ure, a~d
in g it, co m pl et e predictio
1 Tr ot te r: Instincts
n of 1ts
oflhe Herd in Peace and lVa~, P· 1
Principles of Psychology, Vol. II 5 (c .J. Ja m cs :
, P· 386).
 The Deve r
loh,nent of Morality
59
1
. W e may at a la te r
. ld be poss 1bled be
condL1Cl \\ouh co nd uc t l it
l
st ag e oo k
good or
'1
an , 1aself-sacrifice in ba d ; w e m ay
ba ck on dsuo~ go od
the ~ n s rnay co nd
de fe nd in g he r
cornrncn fro rn a h:l w em n as ba d th e ti ge r's
k, ~n ~;c bu t th es e
ch ic ke ns of w ea ke r ar
ss:1crc an nn a . ' . ty T he coe fi gu re s of sp ee ch ,
rn 3
cd fr or n a la tcr m ot a 11 • nd uc t of bo th fo w l
bodrrot~g-c r is si m pl y 1 . to sl au gh te r ot he r ar um • l
an 1 ~a tu ra c'h th e ri gh t th in a s m ay
ca r to l h e u·g cr. as m u g to do (if th eT e
ar r
be any sue h rcoch nsc1ousncs s in an im al s at al l) , as to
sa cn'f ice
ic ke ns ap pe ar s to th h h
herself for he
th \ f in st in ct th er e me us m ot er . en .
t e
Even a 'k d ,,e m1ev o - t be ki nd s of co nd uc t
em be rs of ~he same specie .
• h a re h e uy
~,· Juc ·amp ct h o se actions · s as t 1lC ~_g~ntt
,o r c~ .1 • ct of w lu ch ar c sa · f · th · lf
th e m em be rs of th et1s y1n_g to de se -
asscrubve insht~; 'k in ds sp ec
must e ot of co nd uc t w hi ch ar ie s) an t 11ere
members of th e specie e di sl ik ed by th e
s, ancl w lu··ch· arouse 1~ · h
of repulsion an d pu gn ti em ~he;·nsu1· :c.ts
of m or al di sa pp ro va l ac it y. \Ve~termfarc o uf~ ~ e orht!pn
in th e vi ol at io n o ou h
· a co m m on in ce r se1 -17e11ng ,v . 1c
nt iv e to re se nt m en 1
~easonable to ho ld th t. It 1s ce rt ai nl y
at pr im it iv e m an -1 ·e
dislikes. · T he fa ct ga rd s as ba d w ha t h:
th at ou r m or al Jud e
on gm 10 ou r em ot io gc m en ts ha<l th ei r
ns of re se nt m en t w
prove th at th ey ar e ou ld no t, ho w ev er ,
now si m pl y st at em en ts
m cn t to th e co nd uc tl~at ·we feel 1·esent-
t w e la be l ba d; su ch
ab su rd as ho ld in g a vi ew w ou ld he as
th at m od er n science
because it ha d its or de al s ,v it h m ag ic ,
ig in in th e al ch em y
T he faCt th at ou r m or of th e lVliddlc A ge s.
al ju dg em en ts ha d as
likes an d di sl ik es w hi th ei r an te ce de nt s
ch va ri ed fr om pe rs
pr ov e th at th ey ar e no on to pe rs on do cs no
w la ck in g in ob je ct iv t
m ar ck hi m se lf m ad e va li di ly . \\ 'e st er -
e im pa rt ia li ty or di
essential .ch ar ac te ri st si nt er es te dn es s an
ic of m or al em ot io n,
te ri st ic se em s to pl ay ~ an d th is ch ar ac -
a la rg er p ar t in m or
no w find th em th an al ju dg em en ts as ,v e
th e pr im it iv e likings
w hi ch these ju dg em or re se nt m en ts in
en ts m ay ha ve or ig in
T he dc '! el op m en t of at ed .
co nd uc t in a pr i, ni ti vc
s? m c pe no d or ot he society n1.ust at
r ha ve ta ke n pl ac e
(1) It be ca m e _more in t\\ 'Q directions.
so ci al an d co -o pe ra
ca n do very li tt le ei ti ve . A sinrrle m :i
th er in pr od uc in g n
: W cs tc rm ar ck : Ethica th in gs to< s~ is ty h1
l Relativity, pp. ~_ _
\V es te rm ar ck : op. ci 6 70
t., pp . _ _
91 94
 PflAOlli Xffit}J, ::
n l , 1t ·\ RJ 5-Hflt'
H indu C o ueoe Delhi
I~ 60 AD R ead.in c A v:J ,'E:bl'="
An I ntroduction to Ethics 8 1304 62424 ,-704 2223 ·,E>r:
~ec'! 5
15
2I" to prote ct hims elf again st his enem ies. And some
• ~ tn~ ~ t~dc ncic s like the greg ariou s insti nct , the sex
~?lALJnct.. IIru,! auve ness, s u g g__c st ibi)it y and -sym p at h y alrea
n nply 1L- · ~ ~ ~..!...
dy
• • ic existe n ce of other pcoo lc an •
d h is h a ving relat ions
wii h them . 1t is both beca use· of his o wn natu rally socia l
natu re M wdl a s for t h e bette r satisf yi n g o f h is ne eds that
a
~ n form s both temJ>Qra ry a n d p erma nent a ssoci ation
s with
his fello w-me n . This lea d s very soo n to some form of divis
i_on
of Ja_bour wi th d iffe ren t peop le perfo rmin g the d iffe!e
nt
func t ioru for whic h they are best suite d . In one very simp
le
fo"'!_ of divis ip n of Jabo ur we may find the man defe ndin g
the
hom e from its enem ies, while the wom an prov ides the food .
In d iffere nt circu msta nces the man docs the work of hunt
ing
while the wom en gath ers the vege table foods.,__9r, a t a later
stage , t h e man does the outd oor work , i.-.. · hile the ·wom an, more
conf ined in her ran ge by the need of tena ing her child
ren,
does the work insid e the home . Late r deve lopm ents in
the
clivis ion of labo ur dem and the diffe rent kind s of craft smen
,
su ch as the potte r and the weav er in Indi an villa ge life, and
such spec ializ ation of func tion is a mark of a deve lopin
g
socie ty. (ii) Con duct beco mes more ratio nal , as man tend
s
to use his intel ligen ce more and more in satis fying his nee.9
s.
T h is is seen in the mak ing of tools v-. hich are simply intelligen
1
t
cont rivan ces to assis t in prod uctio n. It is seen also in the use
of strat agem in prim itive 1.vars ; the v-.rcaker man by usin g
his
brai n may defe nd hims elf succ essfu lly agai nst the stron ger.
At this stag e, reas on is chief ly used in the choi ce of mec1ns, but
mea ns arc prox imat e ends , for our min d may be so occu pied
in secJr...ing the mea ns, that for the time bein g it beco mes for us
an end, and there can be no hard and fast disti nctio n bct,v
ecn
the choi ce of prox imat e ends and of ultim ate ends . Even for
civil ized man the disti nctio n is often a vagu e one, and the
ends whic h we set befo re us as defin ite goal s, like pass
ing
exam inati ons and mak ing mon ey, arc reall y only prox imat e
ends or mea ns, al thou gh we are ofte n vagu e as to the ends
to whic h these mea ns ]eacl.
It has alrea dy been sugg ested that a society enti rely at the
leve l of insti nct may neve r have real ly exis ted in th~ ~um an
or in the anim al wor ld. Wha t ,vc have been clescr1b1ng are
tend enci es. whic h mus t have been at ,vork at som e time or
 D cvclop,11e11t oJ .1Hornlily
Thr. f 1 dev elop men t of hum an
GI
J
. •ng ihc earl y st ag cs
ot J1c r du11 Thc i·c rr1ust J1a v·c cch
duct
O t 1e
b n tllc raw mat eria l o f 1nst · ·
• soc1· 1· 1nc-
cry star t cert ain a ·
1z1n
]
1
d·c n c jes, incl u d.ing fromet e v g
,,
~o JJ
uvc te n b e en at som e stag e or othe r
n c ics. T h e r e mu 11a v
. s t ·tai·n type d f di
te n d e s of con duc t an o
r. e l in ""s of P 1ca 5u re,. _ 111• ccr
gs whi ch may hav e spre a d rap1· dl ·
S-
ic
°
1
pl eas u re 1• n thc r s 1ec
' ,1n y 1n
::>
f • t mem bers , natu ral ten
d .
a gro u p, bc c~u s~ 0 ~t~y enc1 es to sug-
And at time s dev elop men ts mus
gcs tibil it y ~ nd sy:~ qua liy in all t
c occ u n dire ctio ns but spas mod ical ly
11.:1 v e 'tow
n ards mor
e rat1. ona l an cl mor e soci. a 1 con d uct.
3 11d un e ve n 1y, . f
Ir app ear5 too that , in spit e o .muc l1 emp 11asi. s on t he con -
.
. ·t of evo lutio n mad e by sc1cnt1s . <lier .
(JJlU l Y ts at uerc nt time
~
poin t natu re mad e a leap . \\llu.le ther s, at
e are rese mbl anc es
~;tw een anim al con duc t and sava
ge con duc t, the diff eren ce
betw een the two is imm ense , and
inte rme diat e links. The most high
falls far sho rt of the mos t prim itiv e
ther e is no evid enc e of
ly cult ured chim pan zee
of nor mal sava ges in the
•
abil ity to use his reas on and to eng
in the pow er to com mun icat e with
imp ly. It is like ly tha t he also _falls
age in social acti vity , and
his fellows tha t thes e
sho rt in his pow er to
•
dire ct his con duc t con scio usly . And ij
at his very low est leve l
man sho ws a cap acit y of jud gin g his own beh avio ur tha t doe s
not see m to occ ur at all in the anim al
wor ld.
~
§3 . The Level of Custom
At this stag e ma n con side rs to
be righ t thos e form s of
con diic t whi ch are app rov ed by the Q
stan dar ds or cus tom ary
mod es of beh avio ur of the soci al gro up
to whi ch he belo ngs .
At this level the bad acti on is the acti on
tha t is 'no t don e', and
the goo d acti on is the acti on tha t has
bee
The jmp orta nce of this level is suggested n 'alw ays don e•.
by the effect tha t
it has had on our eth ical ·terminology.
The wor d mo rals ,
is der ived from the Lat in wor d mor j
es, mea nin g hab its or
customs, and the nam e 'eth ics, itself
comes as a sec ond ary
der iva tive of the Gre ek wo rd [Bos wh ich
also me ant cus tom
or hab it. We now dist ing uish bet wee
n customs tha t are
act ual ly pra ctis ed by the ma jori ty of
a society and customs
tha t are app rov ed by the ma jori ty,
(wh eth er they live up to
their convictions or not), for we realize
·1hat the majority may
~cc the better and foJlow the worse. At
the level of custom,
,~
PAADEEP XEROX/STATIONARY SHOP
~ 62 Hindu College . Delhi
An lnlroduction lo Ethics 813~~ading Available
4
110,,·cvcr ti · d. . 2 4, 7 042223i62
us 1st1nct" ·
'- lOne is what ou · ht t ion 15 ll4?t consciously m:1.de; what is
...J '
~
ancestors actual]g r _0 be done, and d1c ways in which their
generation. Y n cd arc the ways approved by the living
.:, There can be littl d
o ul,t tha t the basis or cu sto mary
moralit '"· is th . . c
<l - •
•
st1nct J
and ti e .1nstmcc kn O\•,n as t I 1e 11c1· or !:,:rrcganous in-
, .
le innate . tcndcn c1cs f h . . .
an d suggcstibT . o sympat y, 1m11at1veness
~ instinct. p ~ Jt Y "hich a r e c1oscly bound up with this
pressions :rd apsl th ey should ~c regarded rather as ex-
innate tcn~l _cv~ opmcnts of thi s insLinct than as general
' As . . . . .
1
L..Terd rottc-r
· p
ehnclcs 1: ' the way they are de-scribed by 1'v1cDougalL
as point c d out m . h"1s book on ,The . .
lnstmcts of lht
I7i lll cace and J.V ·· J that arc .
denvcd from the
he d b ar, impu .scs
ecausc of this h •d · · ·
· r1 , Cl instinct, come to consc1ousnes .s
\'1 1 1 t 11c sense of b ·
emg t h co b v1ous • .
thing to do which . we h3.\"C
' .
· • of human impulses '
seen . a 1ready . to b e c h aractensuc dependent
on 1nsunct _ · 1 Th e1.c 1s ·. h o,-vcver a noteworthy difference .
b etween
. _ 1m pu 1scs ansmg -· · r.
,rom the herd instinct and those
ans 1"!1g _from other instincts. Each other instinct has its own
5 J?ec 1a~ 1mpuls~; the sex instinct impels men to mate and the
fhght 1nstmct 1-?1pcls men to run a\-vay. The herd instinct,
!1-owever, may give to any tendency to action, to which we are
impelled by the group, the feeling that it is the obvious and
necessary thing to do, and to any opinion the characteristi c
of appearing self-eviclent to the person holding it. In this
way the moral opinions of the group come to the individual
as self-evident principles which no reasonable persbn can
doubt. It is because of their common instinctive basis that
it is impossib]e to distinguish sharply the level of custom from
the level of instinct. It is just as much a part of human nature
to .(<:cl pleasure in v..-hat gives our neighbour pleasure as it is
to feel resentment against a person interfering with our
actions or to feel tender affection towards our offspring.
We are here dealing with a level of conduct of ,,,hich we can
find adequate examples both jn history and in yrimi_tive com-
munities as tl1cy exist to-day. Such commu~ut1c s _differ from
more civilized societies in a larger place being g1~en to t_he
observing of customs and a smaller p1ace be_ing given ~o in-
dividual reflection on moral matters. It must be adrmtted,
1 Trotter: op. cit., pp. 44-48.
r-
~ I
.
. r .Morolzty
,h nrn 0
TIit ·D r"rlor ' t J h an soc1eu• •
63
es 1s
. ;
. t o.d \'an ce d of um I . the m ref lec t
,:-1t c"e n the rni :to
rn, for
~
hO,,·c \•cr ' ti . , he lev el ft:,~ pe
of c d t hcse gc ne ralop eo•;l in onP. or
sI i JI Jnrrr:\ ~~ ral r1:a1tcrs l y. . y f the cu s-
l"s td ki ng c.ha:actc ~~
1J1tlch 01 · . I dir cc tto ns. ;1~ ri~e or co m-
L\\·o :-.~ r~;~cl
wr n:l r} s c<m tra s tcd
i~ the Jar g~ ·i)i
)ac e giv en In ll to
the indivi du al., tt
m_v1u;~ ~:i t ion is no t. m~~c ly n po lit ica l um t or Uy pr ov id in g
"'>
th· s sta ge th e
th ; pr ote ct~ on ;
ec~ n o rni c un it gc n~
trJ bc me mb er. ., . It rac ox nrn on , an d
,sh
ds o ld int ' ~ '1
7, fr 11 ~
:i ll irs ow11 _ne e ' nt
,
a ll its pro
of sp ec ia liz a uo •
pe rty
r
d•: 1. ·on of la ur
1v1s 1 · •
bo
f,
J~ ving a ccrLa tn am ~~ no mo i-a l un 1t
is als o jn som ~ . or
•i thi n the gro up . se ~e :'T on g fo r wh
~
ich
"'
a wr d c by a me mb er of the tri be is a ng do ne to a
on g on _b •
the h I tn e is
. he ld res p on sib le, an d 11a 'ts -w ro
me mb er st
" ' l · s rn u
me mb er of the 'b ·s a wr on g W 11 ch a • ·uu str at e d 1· th e
O C 1
av en ge . Th e mo ra .
tn c
l
h
o1 utl
Ol
oo
d
k
Te
at th.is lev el i\s11.,11 en Ac
sta rn en t . 1 v
n
ha n co m - ~
st< ?ry
m1tcc
J; f !\c-h;1n in
th~ ft the
L c
wh ole tri be su ~r ed
ffi a
l.
d rea t an d ev en
cii ,
the de fe at wa s .tr ac d ())
d1 en the wr on g tha t ha d so ca us e e --:,~
;o Ac ha n, no t tl: e
b t his ho us e h o ld an d ki ns m en
e::10ve --
t,.)
::J
::t>
were destroyed m or de
thi ef alo ne th e ev il fro m th e tn. b 0): ., _~
~ ::::- _,_ :-
rr. to { e. 0) ..,_, :.:· -:,1:l
Th e blo od feu d be tw e~ as it sti
ll ex ist s on th e ~o rth
n !am1 i~~ er ex am pl e -
r¼
~ ~c~
-'I.) 0.. :x-,
W est Fr on tie r of th e fam 1\y or t\),- . r ~,
tri be
of In di a ~s an ; th e cr im e co
m m itt ~~~ ~
be ing he ld res po ru1 .bl cl
ed by th e .0.,/ ~ 1" ~'
. "d o_
r 1·g·1o
ind1v1 ua 1• Th e gr ou p is a so a re l us un it of te n un ite
, d :i::.~
.f~ ' ~ =
~~
b
by rnyst1·ca I an d su pc rn atu ra 1 O nd s to so m e de ad an ce sto r, N ~~ ~ ~
N -~ ..
. al wh ich ~
ga r d e d
or ev en to a is in so m e N c- =::
as thc~ an ce to tem -a ni m ' se ns e :::::i
sto . re vi ?== --< t
r of the tri be in whose life th e w h o 1e .b ~
. 'f.•
:i
sh are s. tn e '
·.• :)
7J
Th e place gi ve n to th e . . . . •
sin gl e gr ou p or tn be 1n a pr ~n nu
society at the cu sto ma ve
ry lev el m ay be co nt ra st ed wn
m an y .grou ps wi th wh h_ th e
ich an in di vi du al has re
mo de rn society . Th e m od
la tio ns \n a
er n m an ha s at ta ch m en ts to va rio
gr ou ps -to his fa m ily (w us
hi ch is a fa r sm al le r gr ou p
jo1nt-famiJy or tri be of th an th e
th e cu sto m ar y level), to hi s bu sin es
to l1is du b, to his sc ho s,
ol or co lle ge , to his ch ur ch an d to hi s
sta te. ~n c of th e re sults of ha vi ng so m an y at ta ch m
that !1° single
th
~ J~f~ of the ind
~n e_ thor
em ca n ha ve th e a\ lth or ity or sc
en ts is
op e in
1v 1d ua l th at th e pr im itive tri be ha d for th e
primittve m an . Th e
1
J oshutt vii. fa ct, to o. th at th e di ff er en t
gr ou ps
 -,..._.,
PRADEEP XEROX:~ ,Al 10NARY SHOP
61, Hind '...! C oll e ~e . Delhi
/Jn / . All Readin g A w :, 1.'ab /0 .
'~ to which h 1111 od11ction lo Ethics 81304624 2 4 , 7 0 4 2 223162
.
~
_~ flicting d
.
c belongs 1 k
emands on
reahze that he hi
n? c different and somct1mcs con-
th e individual m a kes the modern man
take whe n such a rnsc11: has to cJ ccide what action he shall

•
ourselves in the p ~o.nfhct arises It is d ifficult for us to put
th e:e Was one gr OSJtJo n r
~ a m a n. a t the leve l of custom, w h en
°
which the indivi~u~ only, a kind of e nlarged family before
the support of \ ·] ':1 a1 sccrn ed utt e rly po\...-c rl css and without
·r.
J11e .
to cnJoy . d'1ndual
at all\ 11 C 1 ti 1e in . would h:t \T no sort o f
ii ~
How did c usto .
.
\\Cre ways of act"ms or ap P• .ovc d way s of acung . · c.? Th ey
ans
partly because thing t~at were satisfying to the whole group,
-- ~
many individualse~:atisfied the ~nstinctivc cravings of a great
made a har . th e same t1me, and partly because they
monrous co
tendencies wh • h . h . . .
~ ?1PrOffilsc among t ose 1 nstmct 1ve
• another eith IC . w~re m danger of conflicting with one
individual . er ; tth m an individual or between different
..
~
did not
t"
f in t e community. Primitive man, of course,
h a ways reason clearly about such customs. Seme-
l _imes; er<: was a fallacious piece of reasoning that a certain
~
me O action had 1:>een harmful in one particular case and
so mu~t be harmful m every case. Such fallacies in inductive
reasomng are still at the base of most of our superstitions•
"!J for example, people will refuse to travel in green clothe;
because of the fate at Floddcn of the Scottish armies who are
alleged to have been so dressed when they marched to defeat.•
. Modern men often detect such superstitions and sharply
distinguish them from customs the value of which Has been
established by experience, but it is unlikely that primitive
peoples ever made such a distinction. For themJ unlucky
conduct was the same as bad conduct, and luc_ky conduct
\\·as the same ;1s good conduct. Another fact which wcak 7ns
. 1 of custom is that a custom always tends to outlive
·t hc var, uc ] The custom of fi1g h tmg · cl ue ls came firom a time·
1 ts use u n ess. • bl e way ·m w 1uc · h a
·d I was the only practtca
when tdh c• d.ue· d al could secure Justice, · · b ut 1t
· survive
· d into
·
~Tonge in 1v1 u ere other less arbitrary and more im-
t1me~ ,.~he1; t~ere ror securing justice> and then just because
partial 1nst1tution9_ . it had a special appeal to men of
it was an old institution . . f h.
traditions about the ongin o t is
l r
1 There are m a ny ot lefallacy .
is invo I,·c<l tn
. t I1cm,
· ·
~uprrstJttnn. h u t the ·same
 µ 0 ,ality
65 j
O ld ••

,
.! /it!,
honour. ,(ul ; it oftc~ g•·vcs

Developnienl of
I J< ee ps o 1·,.., e. cos
·

toms which are no

of venerab1·1·ity.
--gc nut oJ1 y thcrn an air . ·ng the observan ce
1 bl'
j
,]
'"'~ys of ,na1n ta1n ]l the force of _pu IC
long er u~r /l l.H ,•nr1 o t• 5 is first of a athy imitative ness
The gro t1P ) ']'here
~,M-r,.~. (n I tc J1d e n c1.cs o fdsyrnP '
what our neigh • b
ours
of.' ':~ cu. O ur no turn,_ ,. u!- wish to I oasant to the ordinary
nprnr o n ., ma.n~· np e
d .. uµ ~c~ ri1J 11,tyJ ·nrr is rnor~ 11· . dcd as a strange b emg ·
nn . . rand not 11 o t h e is regar . d If
aJJpro ,·e, , r. Jiug tf, a ·11 have 11othmg to
~
I he ,ec o.
. ct gives to t he opnuons
b rs w1
of
111 ;i n 1J1nn m 111-5 neigh · oud . nst1n . .
wid1 "' 11~ rirrht, rhe .11 er 1 and self-evid ence that belong
T ro I rer. " ;1s ·"' s5
1 •-ours an o bv1ousne . t'nct and not by l · 1
og1ca reason-
0ur neig Ju
in ions rnoo~~tc
. d by ms J f . ..
0
ort of the customs o a prmut..iv e
_w p (b) A fanuharl fsupp individu al does somethi ng that is
·ociery 1s t hc- tabu.
ing. · an
superna tural powers w1 in fl'1ct a ·u .
s .
forbidden
by custom,
f .
I 11 5
acciden t, or even deat h upon hi m. ~
pun1s· h m~ nt O . nes ' attribut
often ed tot he activity
. . of t he dea d
1
This punzshm _ e nt ~he animal ancestor of the tribe so that it
cstors or even ~
~nc • thority of the group with t
h r. 1·
at 1ee mg o f re 1·1gious
.
invests t 11c au co
. h Otto has called the , nummo us state of mm · d1
· , .
awe w h ic .. . w ~--
(c) Tllis authorit y is often support ed by an c Ia borate rehg1?u s 0 }, -:W
~:::;: :i:: ~
Tl
·waJ and ritual is a most powerfu l ally of customa ry morality .
Religiou' s ritual
often serves to work up t h e tn'b e to a state o f
great emotion, and this emotion is often enlisted on the side
~r~;
A::·· ;! , '-'
- [~ ~ .
of what is customa ry. This is especial ly true of the rites of '"\) 'I-- -~ ~
0
A r. ~ (.' ::.
--
iniria)ion to manhood where impressive ritual is used to 1\) ::-, ,-_ C;i
~j!:J Q :;;~
brinfho me to the youth both the authori ty of the tribe and
~i ~~
d1e importance of observing its customs. A modern example ~ ·-
is that of the solemn oath &1.dministcred often with the ritual .0:. -~r- ., jJ
cmbeJHshmcnt of a foreign Janguage to doctors on their being
admitted to t11eir profession. Ritual is also used in the con-
demnation and punishment of offenders against the customs Q
of the group, and we find this still in the dignified ritual of
our law-courts which manifests thr majesty of the law. There
~
are other uses of ritual where its connexion with the main-
tenance of custom is more indirec t but still etfective. We find
ritual used on the great occasions of life, birth, marriage and ~
dea~h, and at other times of special importa nce such as the
sowmg and harvesting of crops, the declara tion of war or the
1
Otto: The Idea nf the Hofr, Ch. ~.
;)i ,/1!.J t+r) r,l-J-:OX/S IAI IONARY'.
hi ndu i,~:ollege, Delhi
All Peading Avai/abk
8130'162424, 7042223
 /\ II / ,(t; ll • J// 1• 1
/ . 1,1 1 · ·,,
61 ~04024 ~4 .
~ 66 1 0-1 :1 c1 ✓- · ~ 1( .,;
A1t Int roduction to Ethics
~ui~ding c,f a new house. In these 1hings the l'itu~l often
~ ~n tlicat~ s that the group as a whole h as an interes t ancl st akc
m ~he hfr of the individ ual , and its part on such occasi ons adds
~o its author ity in the cyci of the individ ual. (cl) The group
15
~ gc n_rrally _pr~p~r cd to use physic al force to co_mpd the
rec..alc itront md1v1 dua l to observ e its custom s. 1t 1s chara c•
teristic ?f c ustoma ry morali ty that it h as no he~ita tion_
in
~ compe llrng people to be: good; this h c~itati on anrJ lhe vic:w
that people should be free to choose the right for them-
selves belong to the level of conscie n ce.
~ A_t the level of custom the great step ha~ been taken of
having esta blished mora l stanc.larcls, so that the indivi dual no
longer always docs simply wha t is right in his own eyes or
~ what appea ls to his natura l instinc ts. There are defect s
in these standa rds, as we shall sec in the next parag raph, but
to have standa rds with a certain amou nt of un iversa lity is
'the one thing needfu l for moral ity . At this level too the
1
'• standa rds are suppo rted both by the public opinio n o f the
group and by strong penalt ies for their violati on. Nor, as
..
'Ill is somet imes sugges ted, are these standa rds altoge ther arbi-
trary; they have been proved to a large extent to he useful
by the collect ive experi ence of the group . And these stand ards
have themse lves a second ary usc[ul ncss in furthe r ing those
'
~

bonds that bind the grnup togeth er in a unifie d social life.

The observ ing of custom s tends to bring out in the indiv
those tenden cies which lead to sociab ility and benev olenc
idual
e
rather than those which are self-as sertive and indiv idti':alistic,
... and the former are certain ly the tenden cies which contr ibute
.; most to moral progre ss. The indivi dual is also likely to form
regula r habit s-in itself a real moral gain- under the in-
fluenc e of the establ ished standa rds of the group iu which
he
'
~
..,,

lives.
It is true that at this level the stand ards thems elves have
very great defect s. There is gener ally little distin ction made
betwe en custom s based on reason ing and experi ence and those
based on mere sup erstiti ons. Again rules d ealing with most
trivial matte rs are often given more i mport ance than rules
)
dealin g with what we now regard as the most impor tant
affairs of moral ity. A slight error, like the using of a wrong
word in a piece of religious ritual, may be regard ed as more
:i
~
~l
 67
'
.r µo r alilJ \l ea r 1Y co·0deuss
. cnt OJ d in a
pc r1r.loP''' y,J c fin o rvtoses, a e,u fl 1
7 he ·otence- ·bo ted rin ci P e.
t J11ora1 p ar e
i,n e of_v~ JoW att fl 1ci
I an " er J'' ' "'s tJl ;.itc IfloralitY ta ricto o
~eri es ,
ou ~ , , in the )3tion anfd cuosto .rna·d rY
~f la' \', C 'Y pc tt Y rc~ u~ Cl·rc urf os
th e do er
~ nJ1 1rd s ofor ind ~' otiv~
o1iJ< •t;r c ,~hole , ,he ! uo tJl s :1 fre ed ot n
On. , ,cn1aking _J1 0 e 'or w"'" ':o un t of \:r incliv
no a~ttle roofJ1 ·ve fo 1d~f go od ne s~
ri gid , r~
d cr ca tl be rig.id 1 en fo rc e
, wl- c )ttt l 1c1:1vc h
3 11d t1~c}1ioJ1•
-~ ~1i: ~ of new y f frc ed ot n
~1 ,~:' its ~~~~i~~!~t thct ~~~e~ : ~ds .!:!ari~~
c to '"[his }a ck o cd ru le s
d e ·
.an thth at the y c 3 on °
d·n ati on o
vcrY
t a 11.1•
d nurnbetr
h de ve lo p rn enl 0 at
•
°[t:C
hi gh es t
•
rnea o~e rig id su bo r dit ion s [or l e s to be_ ht . th1S s ta ge
h
a~d ~o t the best conand l c es ire s of t e
aie of ch th~re se rt he va rio us ddrn or al ity .
ara cte r, . ifi ca uon o_
typ e ura ge the . un
f de ve lo pe Ol
-l.
to cn co h. h racterist1c o vl
-h is c a >· -
indiv1'd u al , w ic 0
.J'_,, ::~ : ·.
. 1•c-.
.r
The Level OJ COnscrence the . 1· th e m o ra l ue 1~ . I\, \ .
(}) )·1 ::i
.t,. , ·-
au th or ity ro ve d by h. N '··
§4~t the level .o~
Ou tside the ind1vl1du I
cu :lt~
'of
r::e
co
mu st do w ha t
ns cie nc e th<:

~
;;~r ~s
au th or itX , is ~
th at di re ct s hi m , 0 <:. -.,
~-;.:: ~:
----,j):, :.
group. At. the eve
. ·a al . it is . r vo ice
inside the.in_d1~:h~t an m ne d ha t ap pe ar s th e I\J
~ \ I
~onscie
d no
an . w 1tcl JSpr op er
nc e com Tm h~ n.ss s~ m uc h th e cas_e ~ ~~ :-~·
th in g O do
. t 1S 1 (,J r
_,,
obv1 ous an
that Trotter was inc . r d •
to m am •
• th at co ns •
ci en ce 1s , · r ·,
rne of the rn ortaalmdi ct h
me rel y a de ve lop ed at es of t e h er d
fo nn d . sti nc t i
opera}ing t~ro bu t surely th e m os
ug
chara
h th_ e he r f :n sc ie ~c e ar e th os e w he re t
ct~ ris uc ex p r: :d ; of the gr ou p. It it
contr?cl1cts t~e co bid is tr ue th ~t
s a m an fo llo w th e cu sto m s
consc1en~:t os ~: eti m es it
of his
fe~fdi~g factor is always wh at
do es no t, an d at th is le ve l th
th e m an himself re
e
right. ga rd s as
The adva nc e fro m th e
directio
lev el of cu st om ta ke s pl ac ·
e 1n t ee
hr
ns . (a) Th e sta nd ar ds of m or al ity ar e
chosen by the in di vi du no w ac tiv el y
al af ter a gr ea te
r or les s am ou nt of
deliberatio n; the y ar e no lo ng er ac ce pt ed pa ss
i~e~itable part of his
life in a gr ou p.
iv el y as an
dividual does Ev en w he n th e in -
no t hi m self m ake an ac tiv e ex am in at
sta ndards of his _g roup, an io n of th e
1
Trotter; op. c,t., p. ,
d do es no t de liberately choose to
40 4 1.
- PRADEl::r t\tH lJX/01. d IL , .,
JW S\-i0P
Hin du Coll
~
e~:)(3, De \ni
All Reading A vc1 ilab!
8 12 04 62 42 4 1.:
7n~
 ~ 3
A li°.Reading _!-va~~ 1 6 2
8130462424 . 704
"~ 68
.
. JII Jntrodr1clio11 lo Ethic 5
. . . 1 have \he ab1hty
. .
accept or rcJect them (and few md1v1d_u a 5 • rnination),
and the energy to engage in such a dehbcratc e:a cs decide
'~ the individual still feels that he ciln when ~c c oos personal
for himself in moral matters. (b) There 15 a nc; tandards
interest in morality. At the group level the moraf \ 1 moral
~ are more or less uncon_sciously ac.ccptcd 3 ; p~r~do a~ ~elongs,
atmosphere of the society to which the mdivi u . d" ·dua\
. c\ · an 1n 1v1
b ut at the level of consc1encc to be goo 15 . f01. the
~ matter, and is sometimes actually thought of.\!". being . d d
advantage merely of ,he individual himself. W~ m~~~n :e0 r
define individualism as 'the assertion by the mdivi ua d
~
' his own opinions and beliefs, his own indcpcnde~cc and
interests as over against group standards, ~_uthonty an
interest'. Historically, the tendency for morality to beco~e
,:i a more personal matter has been helped _b"'.' t~c c~mu~g
of the higher religions and especially of Chnst1a~1ty '_v 1 th its
-
.,..,,
...

emphasis on the v;i.luc of the individual soul, wh1c~1 , m ~on-

trast to the transitory nature of all social groups, 1s deS t med
for a personal immortality. (c) While other aspects of human
welfare become matters for the various institutions and groups
in a developed society, pure morality tends to become the
sphere of the individual alone. There is a tendency, for
example, . to separate the spheres of ethics and of politics,
" holding that politics deals with the affairs of the state, and
that the moral standards which apply to individuals are
hardly relevant in the political sphere; this is surely an un-
fortunate effect of the tendency to individualism. \l~·e can
see the change of outlook in the difference between · Greek
ethics with its view that the good man is primarily the good
citizen and that ethics is a subordinate ifJundamental pa1·t of
politics, and modern ethics; which holds that political or
civic life is at the most one sphere among the many in which
a man can express his goodness.
The development from the level of custom to the level of
conscience may appear to be largely due to historical accidents.
We have seen how the spread of Christianity aided that in-
dividualistic outlook which is fundamental to the level of
conscience. Other historical events, like the breaking up
of the Greek ~ity states in the fourth century before Christ,
and the Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
 6
'f /1r Dcvclojmu11t o.f Mo rality 9
will, Jls rich u nfold ing of ind ivid ua l l1uma n ca pacities were
p o werful nids 10 such n 11 a dva n ce. T he movement from
c ustomory m0ro li 1y to ind ivid ual r eflec tive mo~ality is one,
h owc,·u, wlii c h df'pc nds on fun dn m cn ta l tende ncies of human
nnlul'c which on ly recei ve a ne w imp etus from such historical
eve nts as h:wc been m enti oned. In a ll men there arc two
opposing tendencies which we m a y Jal>cl the 'hormic' and
'mncm_ic' tende nc ies , th e tendency to be always seeking
some t hing new a nd the tendency to cling firmly to the
old. W. S. G il bert jndicr1ted these two tendencies . when
hr wrote:
· That every boy an dh every galalive
, rld . PRADEEP XEROX/S1A1\0NAR'f SH~
T hat's born mto t c \\O Hindu College , Delhi
·
Is citl1er a lmle I era 1
L'b • ,1 All Reading Available
Or else a little Conservative. 8 1304624 2 4 , 7 0 4 22231~
childhas
h neweach
He might l,ave said cq~ally truly that ea~ime. the
is both
Liberal and I Conservative at Lhe samk e ·n an'd to remain in
r
tendency bot ' to go ,orwa, d no,vby itself favours the
·d to .the un
the ways ofthcpast. Tllerf•nem,c ten e:J°J,e hormic tendency
continuance of the level o custom, an b dinatcd
ay lead to new ways of conduct that refuse to be su or .
:;: moral standards at al/; this is the r~ason why moralists so
lien distrust those >,·ith new ideas. It is the st~uggle bctwe~n '
'\j
:;,e two tendencies within the individual which arouses In
him inGi.:.iduaJ reflection and so raises him from the level of
custom ;.; the level of conscience. It may only be in one or ~
two matters that the two tendencies conflict in any individual,
but when hi: does face that conflict reflectively even on a single
issue, lie has pas.sed from the level of custom to the level of
conscience. Another factor in human nature wJiich leads to
this advance is the conflict between the interests of the in-
'
in

dividual .a~d the interests of the group as a whole. It is

characteristic of the customary lev l f
· d. ·d 1h
iv, ua as no other
so long as the conditions of/jfj
interests than
). h
f h. ity t at t e
O rnora
e those
d'ffi I o Is group, and

h
'
•
\t
conflict between ers . e are I cu t and dangerous a
is not likely to !ise ?~~I •~tcdr~s_t and the interest of the tribe
'IV. s. Gilberr.. /ofa1111r,,
' eAct. in II.•viduaJ sees that the verv. best ~
•
 PRADEEPxrnux_,:~11\ i lLINAHY SHOP
Hindu C L,IIL c:,o . O u lh\
A ll R $nrii1 1,1 >\ v~11 /n b lo
70 81304624 24 : ·-,"l >42223 16 2
An l 11troductio11 to Eth ics
thing which he
]. n t erests to can d o for himself is to sul>ordmatc · h",s own
c-,.. •
tho r J•
sc O 11:; group an<l to a ssist .in the common
d eicnce of his n-ro d •
. up an ·
lll the co mm on !; tr u ..,glc for cxtstc nce.
Th ere 1s 0
a retu rn to sue h a conditi on
in m o" u c rn t1ffiC$
· · th c
1n
f:~~!e~~Y. of \var wh~n individuals ng.i in a rc prepare d to
_g e ir personal interests for the snkc of th e common
interests of the· • . . . •
h en t h cm tr society. Nor 1s such a conflict hkcly to ansc
wbT
cm b ers o f n group are almost at the ~;i.me \eve\ o f
~ 1 lly and education, for then they will ftncl thc,r own
rnter-es ts served b > · s ts o f
1.. • ·
est rJy w od,mg entirely 1or the intere
t he -PToup
0 Th • c1· ..
• • e case 1s 1fferent however as soon as a
man. outs h ·incs hi s fellows. r
fhe '
village potter , •
m an Indian •
v 1Jlarr-e
o may · continue ·
merely to play h1s .
p.lrl .m lhc group
eco_nomy of the village until he discovers some procc.s~
which enables him to excel all other poll cr s. Then people
come from other villages to buy his pots, and he will he
tempted to go and sell for his own person.ii gain in a more
~dvantageou s ~arket. For our purpose the relevant result
15
_ that he begms to think of his own interest as something
different from the · interests of his group . Circumstanc es
may hasten the conflict between group and individual in-
terests. A time of famine, for example, may drive the
energetic individuals away from the area of their tribe to seek
their living e]sewhere, and when th~s happens, the interests
of the exiled individual are no longer likely to be identical
with those of the group. \Var, industrial developmen t and
indeed outside change of any kind arc likely to offc .. oppor-
tunities for new leaders, and the new leader is ·likely to find his
own interests to be different from those of the tribe with its
estab]ished chief. Yet it would be wrong to suggest that the
assertion of individual .interests is a late developmen t> for,
from the very beginning, there is in each individual an instinct
of self-assertio n. At the level of custom the expressions of this
instinct may be kept in strict control by the customs of the
tribe but it is there all the time and is ready to find expression
whe~ever opportunity offers. One of the first ways in which
any individual is likely to assert himself is by using his own
judgement in moral matters and, whenever he does so, he
has for the moment at least moved from the level of custom
to the level of conscience.
 7I
j
~
D . ,d Moral i/J
'[/,,~ , , ojJ//1 t 11l of
d //t i! [ ,:v e
l vJ (,'iJ11sr:1.i:11c e
o the J, n:,:l . Ct tJ toni 1111 ly a
t hC \\·01. Id js Jarge . a
oj
~->· ,,. I (.'n ,,1JJ1" '·'" " )j
.
. in n, os t pnrt s of <lls rc fl cc UOo
1·
~ l o 1,1 ,1y w -cl :•y d th . ndiv1<lu
t o ni ,,· it h I ,r e :i n
er e, I sc ie n ce ,
m:i 11 n . ..cliJ c1
, t c d cr ui d o. n c c o f co n
1"
rn u 1t cr -~, :ir: J un
th e g
f th ei. r co un tr Y
o r d; :iss o r
~
o1 , n~ o' ~u st on is cp t th e
rt: fl1~1
; to nc cc pl th e.:_ in th
o . rn cn sh ou ld :ic e
.
11 ::, . :"l ~ocia nt m os t ti o ll ; if b o d y w er e
•!-f l ,. l ga
l t ,s 'i11 cir grou p " i.- ,11 ou t q u cs ig ht nccv e1 y cl w ro ng~
s1 :111cl:ir dsnf .'\ bo ut th e
co nstn nd r n:- ·1' ill ~ q ucsu .o ns ci ety, th r o u ld b e a ac o f
ss an \
k ~
- -~).; of th eir so rn er e wd
ncss ~ f th. e " . I 111unity, an th e young w o u ld
th e fa co n co
~t abi l1l)' _1~\L in ora s o f }e ar n. in s a 11110s t u n sc io u sl y th e
]tn ,:c "~:-~d it
t1 c ch an c..: . o
io ns of th~~~
ra ce . In
t rn at te rs
m os tr ad it
io n s
ev en
w
t
h
o sc w
n1or tl l {l·ec t
on rnoral
ac ce p t t_hese er so n it h o u t
\\' I10 . ren . . ly w 1eny th e reflecuve p o r
fi nd s so m e in
c st lO ' it is on h" g ro u fi nd s th a t -
qu s1·st
co 11
are.. no t 1n
cncY in
.
h t

.
cc
th e st
a or ks\\ qu es •
he

d ar d s
d ,it hanthe
ti on
h.
s
ig
o
he
f
st
1s p
m o ra 1 as p1· ra ti o n s o f h1•
d u Itu. n at el y ad o p ts n ew o l
s
m

th
o w
e y
n co
~
<.u
11
):,,
a
"'
-
w as an ra O :c, n · ~
n 3 re t a "·fanY of th e al st an d a rd s th a t p rc v ai·1 a h .:::.- :r m ,.
st an da r ds. toJV. m o~ .
rn m us t ha ve n g m at e d i•n th e re fl ec ti· o n f
t t e ~~ ii ~
iv co
Jevc 1·d of cu s _o o some .ti. - ~- ::n
m
al in th e pa s t It 1s tr u e th at th e fo u n d er s o f h ~J ci (_
<:::
in d 1·v1 u
\-~
. .b t t e g re a t ~
-~~~- {~
. • s rn or al co des·r at tn u e d th ei r co d es to a D ' · ·
re.1ig1t1ou ·on but, even. l we a d m it this th e D1. vm . • vm
l c m - .
5 1ra ' d' "cl , e in sp·ir a ti•o n Jl <;: :J C.
P c th ro ug 11 th e in 1v1 u al co n sc ie n ce a n d m u l N -- J :c_
cttfll al reflec st 1ave b e c n
ur d by th e. m o r
l\) iS°
ti on s o f . t:. st :~. '. ~'.J:> t"':.
co 10 c ·w · es se d in a th e h u m a n in
st ru e n t w
before _l. t th •as cx
e pionpee r m o ra l co d e. T
h e co des so
m {>? '1l ' !)
vide rs o f m o ra li.ty . l p ro - (r:
u e re d w e a k·e .
d l:; ~d p r? b a a: ·,
if ic ation before th b y su -C:
~rid ey nmg
Jl ld 1y co mpare th e te g~med g e n e ra l a c c e p ta @I
v,·c nee o1d1 th ac nce;
1 e convcn . l h m g s o f th e S e rm o
t1ona l n on
:rvfo~n~ ~ 1 to se m o d th
. n.ty e
c how individ ra co e o f l l1e. maJo
"
5
Chf l~ tl~he y ual i< lc als b of
b ec o m e p ar t o f e c o m e weakene
uc 01
f f·ty . In this way the
lev
th e a c c e p te d c o d e o f c u st o
m ry
d
r?ora found at el a
the beginning of c o n sc ie n c e may h a v e b e w
oftc ~cu rrin g of c u st o m a ry en
5
as a revolt against m o ra lity, as well
~ ~,hich
we mosl c u st o m a ry morality the
in Reflective m commonly find it a t the p re way 1
and convention
orality as it is
fo u n d a t
se n t clay. i
al morality th e level of consc
differ in the fo as it is fo u n d at the level ience
llowing respects of custom
:
'
(1) At thr level
of custom 'w h
F a t is d o n e , a n d 'w h a t is no
t
I
•
I 8130 4t>.C::'+..::.-. , , - · - - -
An /11/roduction to Ethic s II
~ 72 1 1natt ers at a .
, orta nce to
don_c . inay_ not be wha t we woul d caJJ mora
.
l •mt two are
Relig ious ntua J, for exam ple, is give n an equath
~ at ~s e both are
m?ra l cond uct, and, to judg e from the way 1 os ' • the
1'
mixe d toge ther in such a code as the Jaw of. the one is
. m A ain,
~ rega rd~d m the same way. To be wr~n g 0th cr. g ld
same kind of wron gnes s as to be wron g in the vhat we ,-vou
. ' d
no d 1ffer encc seem s to have brcn mad e betw een ld rega r a5.i3
now rega rd :is a mora l law and wha t we wou
~ polit ical by-la w 1 like the rule of the road ; both
mus ~ cqu a hy
ern time s t c
be done by the mcm bcrs of the tribe . In mod 1
mo 5 l clea r ~
conf usio n betw een mor ality and othe r sphe res is pers on, _an
~ seen in the case of etiqu ette. The conv entio nal
ects he is at
the word conv entio nal impl ies that in som e resp
th~ man ners
~ the leve l of custo m, feels a brea ch in the code of
er wh~ lc all the
of his class , like wea ring a loun ge suit at dinn
~
e k~ nd of _re-
othe r gues ts arc in dinn er jack ets, with the sam
ht him telli ng
mor se as he wou ld feel if h is fello w-gu ests caug
~ d mak es the
a lie. Refl ectiv e inor ality on the othe r han
wro ng, an~
disti nctio n very clea r betw een wha t is mor ally
, alth oug h 1t
wha t is mere ly disa ppro ved of on othe r grou nds.
- may adm it that these othe r brea ches of cust
indi rect mor al effec ts. A here tical way of
om may have
perf orm ing a
, as whe n
relig ious rite may , for exam ple, caus e soci al diso rder
diso bed ienc e
Lau d's litur gy was used in Edin burg h in 1637 ;
t end ang erin g
of the rule of the road may caw e an acci den
a loun ge suit
Jife; and even a man 's appe arin g at dinn er in
a-: effe cts.
may hurt the feeli ngs of his host ess; all thes e are mor
t is mor al
At the leve l of cons cien ce, how ever , we see just wha
cust oma ry,
abo ut them , and disti ngui sh it from wha t is mer ely
and this is our first grea t gain .
vi9u a)
(2) At ~he .leveJ of cust om the _busi ness of the . indi leve l
is to obse rve and to follo w the hab its of othe rs. At this
to obse rve
it may even be a disa dvan tage to mor ality for him
is mor e like ly
too clos ely and atte ntiv ely, for the indi vidu al
to ente r into the mor al outl ook of his grou p
if the natu ral
esti bilit y are
tend enci e~ of sym path y, imit ativ enes s and sugg
allo wed a free and half -con scio us play with out
the inte r-
to criti cal
ferenc~ of deli bera te atte ntio n whi ch may lead
refle ctio n. On the othe r han d the task of the
indi vidu al at,
oms of his
the Jeve1 of cons cien ce is to rrfle ct on the cust
 -
~
73
.r A.foralil )'
.
I h,
D .,., .; 0 µ111,·11 / OJ
' . . l· his consc ~e
. nee wo1"}c;, for
w mora\
~
n whtc , begin a ne
. th c ~c .:l r e t h e d a t a o I.isl does ~~t.
g 1o u p ,h . m oc: t origi n a l i:n o ra ·ns by cnuc1sr o k discove ries
of what is ~here •"--
e v en t e · . h e b e gt of II
s ystc·m fr o m t h _e ~, ar t , . n he is· hkc . l to rna e .
y that certain custom s
a Jrco d y . I_n h, s rc Ae c~ ~ ~vill discove :o longer so, but may
·cr,..r ,. n t k ind~ - (a_) ~
d HIL fu l are now •ety The custom I
~ - Jy u se
w hi c h ,,·er<" _former} to th e w elfare o f his soc1
.. · · ll d
t it origina lly fulfi e ..
e v en b e d e tnm er;,t~fH th e purpos e tha taking of interes t in
ma y no lo n g er I u ., rohi b itio n of the ~
. le fu1 rule when all the
For ex.:1 mp • t 1c ptries ""as ccx·ta ·in ly a use .
M
ohnmrr:~~a: 0 d for consum ption
~:rrow cd ,~as br;~::e custom into indust rial
:~"itr: o~rcr, but the exten~~ o;hrefly borrow ed .for l?urpos ;-5 of

by
commu n ities, whc1·e money 1 s a useful functio n in s0~1~ty , ,
produc tion and_ so perfor; ::l and quite outside the ongin a\
())
seems to . be socially harmHe will discov er that custom s v<;ry
{ ,·,
purpos e of the rule. (b) in their impor tance. The pay~n g a ):,. -
greatly from ~ne a_~othe.r t and anise and cumm in accord ~ng
h :.::c;_,__
o, -. ·-~·
of tithes on spices like min • d by Christ as I\) ;:'. · §.
someth 1.ng ~ ' : ..
to Jewish custom was b~t~~n;:~.., that it was a d';ty of little N ':J_r :
h :-;· c.,
~hat ought to be donde, ·th others such . '.Q ~
1mpor tance compa re w1
as works of 3udge ment, --,_I " ...
, h . o ~ '. ;
mercy an d ia1t h . 1 (c) He will discov
r. · er t at certai n cus t oms 4..:.. \ ,.
. Th - N ::c:..:
gence. . e 1nsu. t u- r-N· i'~
· 11·fi e d by his own moral 1ntelh .
are not JUS · . l
t. of slavery had in the early ninete enth centur y a o~g (_.,) _
0°'
ion • d .
traditio n of custom behind 1t, an its supl?o rters c~uld_ po!nt cr·
out that there was not a single wor«;l agains t the 1nstit uuon
as such °dl the Christ ian Bible which was consid ered to expres s
man•s highes t moral aspira tions, and yet to reflect ive men at
that period the institu tion was recogn ized as a bad one and
one that had to be got rid of. At the prese nt day the pacifi st
opposes the custom of fightin g for the defen ce of one's count ry,
which has certain ly a long tradit ion · of moral appro val
behind it; the pacifis t of course may be wrong , for the fallibl e
individ ual may be led to ·wrong conclu sions by his reflec tions,
but wheth er right or wrong he has taken the matte r of fighti ng
from
I
the
•
Jevel
•
of custom to the level of consc ience as the name
conscient.1ous object or• given to the pacifi st in>time of waT
suggests. All such reflec tion is stimu lated and aided bv the
comparison of the moral code of one>s o,vn group with those
1
Luke xi. 42.
 ~
r
A' "R;adi ng A v a il aOl<::1
11 2
8130 4624 24, 7042 2231 6 -
~ 7-l- An Introduction to Ethic s
,vars! whic
. h have take n
pow erfu l
of other group s. Indeed, trave l and. ·1· tons arc f cust om
r
1 • .
~ men to sec the ways of other c1v1 1za 1 0
influe nces in arous ing men's mind s from the Ic-ve
ress or
to that of consc ience. 0
g both
room for prarc
(3) At the level ·of custo m ther e is no 1.
1-' devel opme nt. The reform er and the
d c inq u ent
d y for exa
mpl e 11
r~
. t aries
apt to be put rn the same class; at the prcse n a ' l . 11
to
both are likely to be labeJl ed Bolsh eviks ' or • revo
I utl~~
_nsi:: g
by the suppo rters of conve ntion al mora lity. The
this ~ angc
the level of consc ience opens the door for chan ge;
ress ~s no_w
need nor alway s be for the bette r, but at least prog
1~ possible. In our next sectio n we shall see certa
which progr ess has been made in the perio d know
(4) At the level of custo m the grou p is satis fied

in dircc ti_on s in
n t? h 1st0:Y·
1f the in-
to be rem em-
~ ·~ dividu al outw ardly obser ves its custo ms. It is
bered , indee d, that there are custo ms of spea
king as well as
g' as well as
of doing , and it is neces sa1y to 'say the right thin
ry lcv~ l that
~ to 'do the right thing ': It is at the cust oma
, rece ive the
hcret io, who say the thing that must not be said
go so far as
severest treatm ent. The custo mary level migh t
~ is no v~ra Y of
to dem-fn.d a unifo rmity of moti ve, but there
and only
testin g such a unifo nnity and so custo m can dem
unifo rmity in outw ard expre ssion . The level
of cons cien ce
j that the inne r
on the other hand is one wher e it is main taine d
are of mor e
sprin gs of ~~tio n, the motiv e and the inten tion,
nts or thei r
impo rtanc e than the outw ard bodi ly mov eme
I --,
itiuc h aid
effects. In this direction mora lity has rece ived
l relig ion
from the deve lopm ent of more perso nal and spir itua
with its belie f that 'man looke t.h on the- outw ard
app eara nce,
~
but the: Lord looke th on the hear t,.
ality at
(5) The level of custo m tend s to mai ntai n mor
:, rathe r a dead leveJ throu ghou t the com mun ity.
Pain ful
ing muc h
punishments prev ent any indiv idua l from sink
nt and at
below that level, but there is little enco urag eme
~ times even some dang er for the indiv idua l who aspi
res to rise
the poli ticia n
much above the avera ge level of his fello ws. For
oth runn ing
who has Httle conc ern with anyt hing but the sn1o
ance of the
of the state there is much adva ntag e in the mai nten
serio us de-
level of custom. It avoids distu rban ce, it prev ents
grada tion, and it does not requ ire on the part of the
stat esm an
,..
75
'
e
if }./010/ity
·n,e Development o
Th )eve o
J f conscience
.
. ;i rive thought. e . dividual saints are Q
rl>c effor t of c~c -~ one in whi ch great Hl ne in wllich the
on the o:hcr 1,on b~~ it is also unfor tunately ~as little to keep
J1kcl)' to nppror, I oscs the downward path hy many who ~
jndivid uo l wh o c w_ T his is o.nc reason '~ ce urge the
r. uucr r um . 1 of conscie n
him ,1•orn 1 . risen to. the Icve 1· . roost matter s;_
h msclvcs ,nve . . mora ity m
r c . f moinrain mg a · customiJry . the custom ary stan
necrsslly O · . , pprovcs ]ity ~
.. , ~a ' rJH1 l rhcff consc1cncc ~ th a custom ary rnora
tha~~s.of their group. They rcah ze r. amt wrong . than the lead-
d • k h viJ-doer iroertecl consc1cnce.
is more li ke ly to -cep t e c
ings of his own ~ndcveloped or pcrv morality canno t adapt
(6) In a similar way customary h . dividual. In some
it self to the special nec_ds of each t1~he estab1ished. rules
'
. . . r . t ensures t a
respec ts ~his is a gain io1 J
of morali ty cannot be upset by. d
the se1f-interest
di
or preJU ce
t what we may
preven
• of
-
• 1ar · d · "d 1 Yet 1 t oes-c.e such as the domg
m 1v1 ua ·
~ ,,
of ;t partJcu 11 w , · - :u ~
· Of t1 1e mora t nces which are umque. ~ ~
call the finer a d aptatio ~s •
the right thing in paru~u!ar cJTcums :all best men that they &~ ~ ~
It has been z charac tensuc of e ~o y t
th It is said that N~ 5. ><
ha\·e had the insight to do such u_nique ac s. . t t ~-!IJ
-~ ~H ): ~
~
t World War 10 rgi8, the suggestion was ho Id
at l hc en d Of t he fi rs h' fi trs mO\
.
es u
en :: r/2
".,/ .h J5 :--i
·t· h p irne Minist er that is · 0 , ro ~
ma d e to t he .Bn 1sf some r d H b urg m •
'.i
shiploads of· foo. to am 4\ c., · 6
o2
bc t h e sen d mg o . l\1 :::.:
· led Germany. We may well l>chcve that the maker t ;;. ~':~-<
vanqw s 1 •
of chis suggestion had a uniq~e insight an t ~t t e ~c_t1on
d h h .
t ~., _,-~o •.
would have been • morally nght, but the Prime Muuster .i
. ' d , d -o
probably realized that such a t hmg was not one an was
contra ry to the standards of the group in such circumstances.
Such an action belongs to the level of conscience which can
always be on the outlook for new wars of being good.
Such a comparison may seem altogether in favour of
reflective morality at the conscience le\'el, but it is doubtful
whether such morality can exist except with a background of
customary morality. If the individual is to have a free choice
in moral :111atters, he must have some stability of moral back-
ground, and some assurance that his fellow-citizens will not
interfere und~Iy with hjs freedom. It is like]y that it is only
a well-establ1shed mor;!l trndilion that can provide such a
background. Anarchy does not provide the best environ-
ment for th c exercise of the individual conscience.
 ~
~
76
An Introduction to Ethi c:.
The leve l of co . .
dan gers . Th ns~•~~ce itse lf is not wit hou t its defe cts anc l
of evil , "th e poSS ibih ty
mor ality vi non e f h of an indi vidu al cho osin g the wa y
°
~
h • ts
who take s
The con s .
at1:1read t e rest rain
y ~een ~cn tion cd.
imp ose d by cus tom ary
Yet eve
. goo d life sen ous ly ther e are cern 1:or the ma n
mor bidj cien tJou s man may tain dan ger s.
, for exa
is tak ty or unh eah hy self -ccn trcd mpl e, fall into a kin< l of
,~
ness in whi ch his atte ntio n
en aw~ .y from the obv
his com mur uty t th ious duti es dem and ed of him
e.xtrem O . . by
e que stio mng s
perfectie case~ ~he re may eve n be a of his own con scie nce . In
Th deli ber ate cul t of his ovv ·n
on Wlt a corr esp ond ing neg lect
ti e n;.o ~ who has cho sen to leav e of his soc ial dut ies .
the wo rld for the cul tiva -
d 0~ 0 s own soul is in dan ger of forg etti
i
ng tha t he has
::;.:,n rve
Ut.les. to the _world he has aba
ndo ned . It ma y be tha t som e
_the ir bes t serv ice to the wor ld in
, . ut m suc h ther e mu st be no mo livi ng the mo nas tic
rbid self
-ce ntre dne ss.
~ Aga m, the fac t tha t at this leve l
the re arc so ma ny dif fer ent
sph~res. of hum ~n acti vity mak es it
eas y for the ind ivid ual to
li!1"t ~is mo rali ty to cer tain of thes e
sph ere s, for exa mp le to
~ his leisure and family life, whi le
his bus ine ss is run for the
pur pos e of mak ing mo ney wit h
no mo ral con sid cra tio ns
e.ic:cept the ver y lim ited hon esty
~ tha t bus ine ss pru den ce
~... req uire s. In an extr eme cas e a ma
n ma y find oth er sph ere s
of act ivit y so inte rest ing tha t he ign
ore s mo ral ity alto get her .
The arti st ma y clai m tha t he is so abs
orb ed in his art tha t for
..) him mo rali ty sim ply does not ma tter
at all. An oth er dan ger
of the 1eve1 of conscience is tha t of an
ind ivi dua l giv i~g up the
obs erv anc e of a moral rul e wh en he
no lon ger und ers tan ds its
~ me ani ng and usefulness. Aro und the
ins titu tio n of ma rria ge
the re hav e gat her ed in the cou rse of
his tor y a gre at num ber of
customs. Ma ny .of thes e hav e .see me
d to the rcn ect ive or ou r
' ow n gen era tion to hav e no sig nifi
bee n a ten den cy to aba ndo n all the
can ce, and the res ult has
tra.dition, alth oug h a full er refl ect ion
doing so has always had dis ast rou s
res tra int s
im pos ed by
wo uld sho w ~ha t the
e~e
appears as if the right atti t_u de to tr~ ~ts on soc iety : It
d1t 1on al
cus tom 1s to
aba ndo n it not wh en we fail to see
its use ful nes sr bu t on ly
wh en we see tha t it is def ini tely har
mf ul. Th ere 1s a saf ety
and stability abo ut cus tom ary mo ral
ity , e_ven alt ho ug h 1t
does not admit of the att ain me nt of suc
h hei ght s of goo dne ss
 77
I 1/n11d 1U. c· . a ncl the re
.
J /11• /Jr 1' /o/1111r 11I • '! 1 co nsc1~n ... , on •in an
e fl e cti
b ;ndivJ<Jua m an d r
lJo th c u sto
.J, .1 m ur,,.1 1, )' (}, rc ctcd (4 /
o
:ipp~nra H, b~ tt pJn cc . .
1tk nl co 11H 1w niq , . ttl o_/ ,\,/tJftJ 1l!J'
mt i • kno,\rn to u s
d o ~s sh ow tha] t
;6 TM .IJ,1/c , rN I D8t1tl op f . nk ing 1n to me re
y
' :,1 his rory ns t JS . J . me nt fro m
{ . ·re o f pe rio ds o S l . .
A .s ur ve y o so~ • lJ)' be e n ea levde ve ofp nc e .
o11 the ,vla va ok , ' " sp ll_lA!'J ac tun. f th el o. co ns cie
. f .
v.s th ere
.. 1 di rc c u o noot bee n c o nt1_n u_?U~, a tc1
c us rn mu y ' , , ,n t ,c h as n
ih r ll'v el of c us tom 1~ s1g ht or
!;~ lea de r who, by h1 s
O f course th is de velop:,~ ra lit y, th er e
rh c appc-a ra ~c e . of a
f;h e ac ce pt ed ru les of mo
m uc h ap pa re nt
J af ter str ug gle an d rt of cu sto ma ry
re llection , re~ec is_ on el ~- i, ac ce pt ed as a pa 1· d
is a lon g pe rio d Jn w uc me s . no t ac ue ve
. h ·~ I ·ul e hbe co fl tiv e mo ra hs t ha s of co ns cie nc e
fai lur e, t e ne w te r
c re c~ or hi m a m at
mo ra lir y. ln dc ~d , 1' H e him se lf, of
w~!:'I ttc r of cu sto m. I
his pu rp os e un til '1\' l~t
1c1 s a
h h
e c 10 0scs1
nsc1 en ce w ben h'
•
om e fo r ot
. 1 d •h e lev el of co
.&.& "'4
h as b cc ry , ut 1s m or a
c oui'S c ha s dre ac le L
t fJrom wh at js cu sto
ma f
·fl·· .
. '·
so me·th mg1 1 cr en lz"dated by its be co mi ng
a m at te r o ·cu sto
• B · m.
·
ga in ,s on y co ns o 1_n nt am or
ed at tit ud e to sla ve ry
T he sto ry ·0 r th e chang_ ov id es a _good
nm ete en t!1 c~ nt ur y pr
A m er ica du rjn g th e at co ns cie nc e
exam pl e of tl1i.c;. In an
id~al ~o_cicty it ap pe ar s th
th e custo1:1s of
e 1nd1v1dual_ to fo Jlo w
wo ul d al wa ys di re ct th 1s a. cu sto m , fo r an 1d
eal
er e th er e
th e gr ou p in m at te rs wh sto m s. In an
ly th e be st possible cu
so cie ty wo ul d ha ve on be m at te rs
ul d, ho we ve r, ce rta in ly
i de al sb cie ty th er e wo wo ul d be an
cu sto m , so th at th er e
in wh ich th er e is no in th e m or al
op po rtu ni ty fo r or ig in
al ity an d cr ea tiv en es s
life.
be en ce rta in m or al g~ ins as pa rt of
Hi sto ric al ly th er e have m or al ity .
th is de ve lo pm en t fro m
cu st om ar y to reflective th e in ne r
t ha s te nd ed to de al w ith
(a) Th e m or al ju dg em en uc t. This,
th an th e ou tw ar d co nd
causes of ac tio n ra th er ve lo pm en t
se nt ia l el em en t in th e de We find
as we J1ave seen, is an es .
to th e Jevcl of co ns ci en ce
fro m the le ve l of cu sto m an d pa r-
at tit ud e to th e cr im in al
i~ hi sto ric al ly in th e ne w m pt is no w
lin qu en t, wh er e an at te
tic ul ar ly t~ th e yo un g de ime. or in
ta l hi st or y be hi nd th e cr
m ad e to di sc ov er th e m en
e pr ac tic e of re lig io n,
the use of confession in th
 A·1i"i-i; ~- : ; .i , · • I 11, 11/tJIJIU
11 30.ct624 2 4,· / 042223102
~ 7G . . 111 /11tro,/11clio11 lo £ thin
(b) The arcn . . cd In the
of th e moral life h;1s l>rcn cn l•.u g · •' ·c nnd
tn"ba 1 1·1fc, moral duties
· were almost a 11 w,t · h'n
' the tn 1..1 1·,~ious
•
'
' such ob)igations ns th ere were to the strnnger wcr~ r e \ . .fu 1
and magical rather than morn I; it \\'US prndc nt 1•0 ) \ ';~ CiJ 1
lly
in dealing with the unknown. The most n a ti onn_ 1 '"
~
minded to-day would admi t 1h:tt we h n, ·c some <h 1_ll<.:~I to n 11t
humnnity. Even 1hosc wh o tc11 us most cmpha n cn Y
to interfere with the customs of primitive peoples c)c~ " 1 c
i°~
~ that we have one moral duty lo such people, namely the ut Y
of leaving them nlone. A great ma ny people now fee 1 •.hat
they have some duties to the animal world, a t least the obl iga-
tion not lo cause animals t.1selcss and unnecessary pnin, 3nd
this seems a moral advance in the last few cent urics about
which there can be no doubt. The ,vilful torturing of
animals which until a century ago was among the rn~ st
common of English sports has, except for the barbarou s rch~s
of fox-hunting and cock-fighting, almost disappea red. Certain
movement s indeed like that against vivisectio n go very faT
in giving equal coruidcration to animals and men in the matter
of c.ausjng pain. The more humane treatmen t of animals ,
even if in some cases it has been perverted to preferrin g
· domestic animals to one's fellow-men, is undoubte dly a great
moral achieveme nt.
(c) The -development to reflective morality has given us the
knowledge that morality is something that we can try to
understand, and the study of ethics belongs to the level of
conscience. In India and China, where customa ry ct..0des of
morality have long prevailed, there has been little ethical
reflection. Modern ethics began in those Greek thinkers
who thcmse1ves passed from the level of custom to the level
of conscience, particularly Socrates and the Sophists. At the
reflective level, we realize that morality is not a law imposed
on us by an arbitrary creator or his ministeri ng priests; it is
not even a Jaw imposed upon us by our fellow-men. It is a
law that we ourselves can understand, and choose for our
guidance because we see that it is good sense to do so. The
great Creek moralists realized this, but the long moral
domination of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle
Age·s made men feel again that the moral law was outside
them and beyond their understanding. In totalitar ian
,,--
•
C
79
Tht1 .Dei:elojmu11/ of
.lfo ml i(Y
- C
ren ew al _of 1h is im
y the re Jias be en a
$(ates in ou r ow n da ho ug h thi s ha s of ten
law fro m ou tsi de alt
po sit ion of the mo ral mo ra l Jaw in so ~c
be en dis gu ise d by the
tn:iy exp res ses the 're
tru e tha t it is be tte r

sup po sit ion cha{ the

in mo st cases to ob se rv
rst an d if the re be no

co nc ern ed . It JS
al wi ll' of the pe op le e mo ral cu sto ms
rea so n for tra ns -
'
tha t ·w e do no r un de ver y, eff ort to un de rst an d is its elf a
gre ssi ng the m, bu t
mo ra l en ter pri se of
the
co ns ide ra ble va lue ,
an d the me an s of
som ctl 1in g tha t we ac
ma kin g the mo ral law n fre e ch oic e.
ce pt op en -e ye d
'
fl
for ou rsc h-c s by ou r ow
'
..
~
'
•
~
~
'