SYSTEMS OF ETHICS.
Mr. Spencer very justly claims for his system that it gives a new
meaning and authority to all previous systems of Ethics and theories of
human action. In his system they all harmonise. Their contradictions
disappear on the discovery that they are all parts of one consensus of
truth. We will proceed to examine in order some of these earlier
theories in their relation to the one now propounded.
The idea that society is a pact or contract, though essentially untrue,
since society has been a growth and not a partnership resulting from
negociations, is nevertheless true in the sense that men have had to
give up individual biological liberties or egoisms in entering upon the
social stage. There never was any conscious bargaining, but there have
been an infinite number of tacit understandings of societarian and
individual adjustments which eventually brought about the well-ordered
societies of modern times.
The Intuitional School of Moralists finds the intuitions as to what is
right and wrong, and more especially the feeling of right and the
feeling of wrong, justified and established in the fact of the growth of
feeling in general as the essential of the biological history, and in
the historical establishment of the internal growth of moral feelings
transmitted from generation to generation. Validity and authority are
given, to moral principles by the very fact of their existing strength
and their recognised fitness to the social circumstances. The
indignation or the admiration naturally felt by man at certain actions
is justified _a priori_, and apart from any reasoned opinion of their
bearings. Praise and blame are not much, as a matter of fact, affected
by reason. Spontaneously and independently passion and enthusiasm are
expressed. Without staying to think, comes the unbidden frown and sharp
reproof, or even the hasty blow. Without thought come the expression of
sorrow and sympathy, the glow of praise, the approving smile, the
commendatory word, straight from the heart and sympathies of the
like-minded spectator. Reason may argue about details--it may rejudge
the spontaneous expressions of the sympathies, it may guide and direct,
but it never lends to praise its warmth, or to condemnation its
severity. These are purely instinctive, and reason justifies them in the
ascertainment of their origin and growth. There is an intuitive
conscience which has been developed by evolution. The adjustment of
organisms, the growth of feeling, the acquisition of altruistic or
sympathetic feeling in an environment of subjective individuals has
developed not only social adjustments, but also feelings in individuals,
relative to those social adjustments, which compose a conscience or
intuition. Never yet could such a conscience or intuition wholly and of
itself teach a man moral action. The conscience presupposes for its
actualization the presence of its environment. It needs education,
encouragement, and instruction. Society is a continuous existence. The
child born into a society not only inherits its dispositions, but from
the very first receives its prepossessions, is subject to its
injunctions, and is trained in its habits. Intuition is only a part of
the truth. Yet although it may be developed by education, and guided by
reason, there is no question as to its existence, and as to its
affording the zest to praise, the keenness to condemnation, and the
poignancy to remorse.
The view which regards Ethics as explicable by Egoism is a very
imperfect and ambiguous one. For what is the Ego spoken of, and of what
does it consist? The view which makes egoism the rule of life, and which
some suppose may afford the ultimate rationale of Ethics, is identical
with the biological view which we have already discussed. No doubt
egoism is the rule of life taken in its widest sense. No doubt the
adjustment of the Ego to society, and of society to the Ego, is the rule
of life. But egoism only becomes ethical when it, in order of growth,
includes love of offspring, love of family, love of fellow-man, regard
for the tribe, the nation, or humanity at large. As egoism loses its
narrowness, as it loses its exclusive regard for personal continuance,
and finds itself possessed of affections for others and altruistic
considerations, so does it become continually less and less egoistic. It
is a matter of chopping logic to say that its action is still
essentially selfish, if it does good to others, because it is part of
its own nature to do good to others, and it does so to satisfy its own
egoistic desires. This only proves that egoism is the rule of life, but
does not establish it as the rule of Ethics, which is a very different
thing. The ethical rule has been found in the course of the enquiry to
be, firstly, the body of injunctions which society lays upon the
individual; and, secondly, the conscience which a society of subjective
individuals cultivates in each separate Ego, both arising from the
growth of altruistic sympathy in the subjective organism of which
society is composed. To say that when men act ethically they act from
egoism is only to include ethical action in a statement of a more
general biological law, and takes the mind off from the special ethical
study altogether. Ethical egoism pre-supposes ethical feeling in the
Ego, otherwise egoistic morality is obliged to frame for itself a
hypothetical society of individuals without feelings, which, of course,
puts it out of relation with humanity. Egoism, as a basis of morals, is
bound to include altruism, or else it is merely a form of expressing the
most general law of Biology.
Egoism however gives, in its highest form, a wide and wise consistency
to actions. It pre-supposes a well-ordered mind capable of
self-regulation and control. It takes a look all round, and it judges of
the eventualities of actions. It sums up its own forces and motives, it
takes account of its present and future surroundings and forms a
judgment as to the most prudent course of action for securing the
fittest life possible for itself and the greatest continuance of such
life in the future. A wise and well-judged egoism is very valuable to
the community, as well as profitable to the individual. It is not
however essentially ethical, and is so only in so far as the individual
is properly altruistic. If the egoist is not altruistic, he may become a
curse to the society in which he lives, or if on a larger scale--a
terrible scourge to humanity at large.
Utilitarianism does not explain ethics, unless the word be accepted as
co-extensive with the biological and sociological adjustments which have
gone on during the upward growth. No doubt these were all utilities;
and, therefore, utilitarianism is so far true. But since the process has
been one of accompanying modified feeling, it is only half an
explanation, only one feature of the general explanation. It was no
common intellectual appreciation of the axiom "the greatest happiness
for the greatest number," which caused the evolution of morals. The
axiom was itself an after-thought. It may have great use in these days,
as the expression of the outcome in feeling and in philosophic thought
of processes of evolution, but it was not the ruling principle which
produced the evolution. Accepted thus as the outcome, it may be the
criterion and guide for future action in detailed adjustments and
modifications of ethical judgments or political action, and may have an
authority in modern times which it could not have had primordially. But
its scope is limited to the formation of deliberate judgments, and it
does not impel spontaneous praise or give any force to spontaneous
blame. Its judgments are those of the calm reasoner which may very
properly modify the opinions of society at large, and thus tend to form
an improved conscience, but it will never make a moral impulse or form
the base for an ethical ideal.
In an ethical system founded upon an acceptance of biological and
sociological evolution, all these systems of previous philosophers find
a due place. Egoism cannot be denied as the rule of life, but it is
shown that egoism cannot always remain purely egoistic, but at last
includes inevitably an altruistic growth. The progress of society
involves altruistic conditions. The intrinsic growth of sympathy and the
extrinsic imposition of conditions form in a continuous society, by
change in the internal constitution of organisms, and by hereditary
transmission of such changes, not only an intuitional feeling of right
and wrong, but also an intuitional conscience of greater or less
development. Thus, we admit and explain the law of right and wrong
written upon each civilized human heart. Utilitarianism is recognised as
the ultimate outcome of philosophical thought; and, while it is but an
inadequate expression in the hands of some writers, it may, perhaps, in
its wider expansion by later philosophers, become an adequate and
suitable expression of the ethical principle, and a guide for
re-adjustments in the recognition of the wider ends and larger views of
human organisation.
But any one of these views is inadequate by itself to explain and
express the largeness of ethical movement. Only when we seize upon the
history of the development of subjectivity, only when we understand the
gradual progress from gross beginnings, and recognise the grand movement
which carries us forward to we know not what hopeful future, can we
properly appreciate the ethical position and the ethical authority. But
to one who understands the evolution of organisms and of society, all
these varying views fall at once into their natural places in a
beautiful harmony. The touch of genius in a Darwin or a Spencer,
produces out of the apparent chaos a well-ordered and progressive
system.
This is the proper place to notice Mr. Leslie Stephen's very valuable
and elaborate work upon "The Science of Ethics." That work is wise in
conception, sound as to its basis and construction, beautifully
proportioned in its mode of treatment, carefully, and, perhaps, too
elaborately worked out in detail.
The original conception is wise in that it excludes metaphysical
questions and discussions as to first principles, and limits the range
of its considerations to properly-ascertained scientific facts or laws,
and to such extensions of scientific surmise as are warranted by the
acceptance of the modern doctrine of evolution, expounded by Darwin. The
acceptance of this doctrine not only involves the acceptance of historic
developments, but justifies, and even necessitates, the acceptance of a
supposititious prehistoric development. This hypothetical history,
founded on observations of historical order, and of the habits and
customs of uncivilised races, is perfectly justifiable. However, the
problem, conducted within scientific limits is to consider the
groundwork of actual morality (Ch. i.).
Properly to effect this object, it is necessary to study the influence
of the emotions as determining conduct. Next, the influence of the
reason as determining conduct, and finally, the interaction of the race
and the individual (Ch. ii. and iii.).
These preliminaries are succeeded by a study of the moral law as derived
from social interests, following upon social necessities, establishing
the moral law as natural, and as authoritative (Ch. iv.).
The contents of the moral law are next discussed, in which the virtues
of courage, temperance, truth, and the social virtues are considered
(Ch. v.).
Altruism, as a growth within the Ego, is necessarily an object of study,
and is explained as a natural development of sympathy out of intrinsic
subjectivity. Its place in a system of ethics is also set forth. (Ch.
vi.).
Upon this follows an exposition of special views upon merit, free-will,
effort, and knowledge, as modified by the acceptance of the doctrine of
evolution. Of essential importance to an ethical work is a consideration
of the nature of conscience and the variations of its judgments (Ch.
viii.).
A discussion of happiness as a criterion succeeds, including a study of
utilitarianism, and a consideration of the relations of morality and
happiness (Ch. ix. and x.). A concluding chapter sums up a work of
nearly 500 closely printed pages.
It is very evident that we cannot undertake the criticism of so large
and important a work without having to enter minutely upon points of
agreement and difference which would greatly augment the size of our
present volume. We need only say that, although there are naturally many
minor criticisms to be made, we accept it as an excellent exposition of
modern ethical views modified and co-ordinated as necessitated by the
recognition of the Darwinian theories. It should be read, we think, in
succession to Professor Sidgwick's excellent broad and dispassionate
work on "The Methods of Ethics." Mr. Leslie Stephen's study is based
upon the same scientific fundamentals as Mr. Spencer's "Data of Ethics,"
without the confusing cosmical views which are necessitated by Mr.
Spencer's position, but which do not by any means tend to strengthen it.