A Handbook of Ethical TheoryFullerton, George Stuart
Philosophy
A Handbook of Ethical Theory
Fullerton, George Stuart
Ethics
But even where the will of a community is something more definite and
consistent than this, it may be condemned by the moral judgment of the
enlightened. An appeal may be made from the will of the community in the
narrower sense to that of the larger community. The limits of nation,
race and religion may be transcended, and we may appeal to humanity as
such, refusing to recognize the will of any lesser unit as really
ultimate. He who occupies the one standpoint is apt to speak of defending
his legitimate rights, or of extending to subject races the blessings of
civilization. He who takes his stand upon the other may talk of lust of
dominion, or desire for economic advantage. The one may use the term
righteous indignation; the other, the word anger. The moral judgment
passed upon an act depends upon the concept under which men manage to
bring it. What is approved by the tribal ethics may be abhorrent to the
ethics of humanity.
But the larger social will, so far as it has gotten itself expressed at
all, seems to remain something vague and indefinite. It is appealed to as
rational; but how indicate clearly the end which it sets before itself
and the obligations which it lays upon mankind?
The difficulty of describing in detail the ultimate ends of the real
social will has led some writers to speak in terms of exaggerated
vagueness. The mere idea in a man "of something, he knows not what, which
he may and should become" can give little guidance to action; nor can one
aim with much confidence at a goal of which "we can only speak or think
in negatives." [Footnote: _Prolegomena to Ethics_, Sec Sec 192, 172,
180. But GREEN is not always so indefinite. He is on the right track. He
reverences the social will and the historical development of the social
order.]
But it is not necessary to speak in this way. We may form some conception
of the real, rational social will, without being compelled to know all
that man is capable of becoming and without being able to forecast the
details of his environment in the distant future.
We may attain to our conception by determining clearly the nature of the
aims man sets before himself in proportion to his growing rationality. We
can see in what direction man moves as he develops and becomes
enlightened. From this standpoint, the aims of the rational social will
appear to be as follows:
(1) The harmonious satisfaction of the impulses and desires of man.
(2) Such an unfolding of his powers as will increase their range and
variety, broaden man's horizon, and give him an increased control over
erratic impulses.
(3) The bringing about of a social state in which the will of each
individual within a community counts for something, and not merely the
will of a chosen few.
(4) The broadening of the conception of what constitutes a community, so
that ever increasing numbers are regarded as having claims that must be
recognized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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