Elements of Morals: With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the State — John Shaqi
Elements of Morals: With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the StateJanet, Paul
Philosophy
Elements of Morals: With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the State
Janet, Paul
Ethics
5. _Duties towards the liberty of others._--These are rather the duties of
the State than of the individual. They consist in respecting in others the
liberty of conscience, the liberty of labor, individual liberty, personal
responsibility, all of which are the _natural rights_ of man. However,
private individuals may themselves also fail in this kind of duties. The
violation of the liberty of conscience is called _intolerance_; it
consists either in employing force to constrain the consciences, or in
imputing bad morals or bad motives to those who do not think as we do. The
virtue opposed to intolerance is _tolerance_, a disposition of the soul
which consists, not in approving what we think false, but in respecting in
others what we wish they should respect in us, namely, conscience. One may
also violate individual liberty, the liberty of labor, in keeping one's
fellow-beings in _slavery_; but slavery is rather a social institution
than an individual act. However, there may be cases where one may seek to
injure other people's work, in restraining others by threats from work;
which, for example, takes sometimes place in workmen's strikes. There is
also a certain way of domineering over the freedom of others without
restraining it materially, which constitutes real _tyranny_; it is the
dominion which a strong will exercises over a feeble will, and of which it
too often is tempted to take advantage. On the contrary, it is a duty,
not only to respect the liberty of others, but also to encourage it, to
develop it, to enlighten it through education.
6. _Duties relating to friendship._--All the preceding duties are the same
towards all men. There are others which concern more particularly certain
men, those, for example, to whom we are attached either by congeniality of
disposition or uniformity of occupation, or a common education, etc.,
those, namely, whom we call _friends_. The duties relating to friendship
are: 1, to choose well one's friends; to choose the honest, and
enlightened, in order to find in their society encouragement to
right-doing. Nothing more dangerous than pleasure-friends or interested
friends, united by vices and passions, instead of being united by wisdom
and virtue; 2, the friends once chosen, the reciprocal duty is _fidelity_.
They should treat each other with perfect _equality_ and with
_confidence_. They owe each other _secrecy_ when they mutually entrust
their dearest interests; they owe each other _self-devotion_ when they
need each other's help. Finally, they owe to each other in a more strict
and rigorous a sense, all they generally owe to other men, for the faults
or crimes against humanity in general assume a still more odious character
when against friends.
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