The whole field of our obligation both positive and negative; that is,
the “I oughts” and the “I ought nots”; what we ought to do and what we
ought to avoid; our duty toward ourselves, our duty toward mankind and
our duty toward God, come to us through what we term moral or ethical
science. A mental construction having as its basis purity and duty. When
the moral nature is cultivated and developed it controls every action of
man, radiating from the individual to society and from society back
again to the individual.
We study moral science in order that we may conduct ourselves properly
in all relations of life; that we may be inwardly pure and outwardly
moral; that we may be harmonious in our mental construction and in our
relations with the world. It is true that we may attain some degree of
morality without giving it especial study, just as we may live in the
world and perform the ordinary work of life without scholastic learning.
There is a natural desire for knowledge—we seek a rational account of
things. Moral science endeavors to give us this rational account of
moral conduct which we find everywhere in some form, to correct and
improve it, to elevate and purify our moral ideals.