Man And His Ancestor: A Study In EvolutionMorris, Charles
Science
Man And His Ancestor: A Study In Evolution
Morris, Charles
Human beings -- Origin
It was formerly the custom to look upon man as the only intellectual and
moral animal, the forms below him being credited solely with hereditary
instincts. This belief is no longer entertained by those familiar with
the results of modern research. Evidences of unquestionable powers of
thought have been traced in the lower animals, imagination and reason
being alike indicated. The elephant, for instance, is evidently a
thinking animal, and is capable of overcoming difficulties and adapting
itself to new situations, using methods not unlike those which man
himself might display under similar circumstances. Its gratitude for
favors and remembrance of and revenge for injuries are evidences of its
possession of the moral attributes. The recorded instances of displays
of reason in the dog, man's constant companion, are innumerable.
Intellectual attributes are still more pronounced in the ape tribe, as
indicated in a preceding chapter, where it was argued that man began his
development in intellect at a somewhat advanced stage.
The same cannot be said in regard to his moral evolution. In this
respect the level from which man emerged was a much lower one. If his
moral growth may be symbolized as a great tree, it is one not very
deeply rooted in the world below him. Yet it doubtless has grown out of
the soil of animal life, and its finer tendrils and fibres may be traced
to a considerable depth in this fertile soil.
Before proceeding with this subject, it is important to devote some
attention to the characteristics of the moral attributes, concerning
which there is much diversity of opinion. There has been abundance of
theorizing upon the principles of ethics, thinkers dividing themselves
into two widely separated groups. In the one school, the intuitive, the
principles of morality are looked upon as inherent in the soul of man,
unfolding as the plant unfolds from its seed. In the other school, the
inductive, morality is claimed to be founded upon selfishness, the
moving principle of human actions being the desire to avoid pain and
attain pleasure. Each school makes a strong argument, which goes far to
indicate that each is based upon a truth, and therefore that neither has
the whole truth.
The fault would appear to lie in the attempt to make morality a unit. In
our view this unity does not exist. While both schools may be partly
right, neither would seem to be wholly right, and they appear to be
pulling at the two ends of a single chain. Ethics, in short, may be
regarded as composed of unlike halves, which unite centrally to form a
whole. It may aid to reconcile the conflicting systems of theorists if
it be held that the inductive half of ethics is the product of the
reasoning powers and outer experience, the intuitive half the product of
feeling and inner development; while both meet and harmonize in life as
reason and feeling harmonize in the mind.
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