Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics — John Shaqi
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of EthicsDrake, Durant
Philosophy
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics
Drake, Durant
Ethics
(2) With the gentler conditions of civilized life there is a general
tendency toward the relaxing of social restraints. The harsh penalties
of early days would shock us by their cruelty; and early codes are
full of prohibitions and injunctions on matters which are now left
to the individual conscience. Needlessly cramping and cruel as these
primitive laws often were, they were powerful deterrents, and their
lapse has often been followed by greater moral laxity. The passionate
pursuit of liberty, which has been so prominent in modern times, though
on the whole of great advantage to man, has not been without its ill
effects.
(3) The monotonously specialized and unnatural work, which
confines a large proportion of our men, women, and youths today, promotes
restlessness and the craving for excitement. The normal all-round
occupations of primitive men tended to work off their energies and
satisfy their natural impulses. But the dulled and tired worker
released from eight or ten hours' drudgery in a factory is apt to be
in a psychological state that demands variety, excitement, pleasure
at any cost. It does not pay to repress human nature too much, or to
try to make out of a red-blooded young man or woman a mere machine.
Gambling, drunkenness, prostitution, and all sorts of pathological
vices flourish largely as a reaction from the dullness and monotony
of the day's work. We are paying this heavy penalty for our increase
of material efficiency at the expense of normal human living.
(4) With the increased possibilities of undetected sin, above
mentioned, and the opportunity which criminals now have of forming
within a city a little community of their own which permits them
fellowship without rebuke for their sins, there have arisen whole
classes of vice-caterers. These men and women make their living by
tempting others to sin; the allurements which they set before the young
constitute a great check to moral advance, and even threaten
continually a serious moral degeneration. The keepers of gambling
houses, saloons, and houses of prostitution, the venders of vile
pictures and exciting reading matter, the proprietors of indecent
dance-halls and theaters, of the "shows" of all sorts that flourish
chiefly through their offering of sexual stimulation these are the
worst sinners of our times, for they cause thousands of others to sin,
and deliberately undermine the moral structure so laboriously reared,
and at such heavy cost. Conspicuous in commercialized vice-catering
is the Casino of Monte Carlo, where thousands of lives have been ruined.
The business of seducing and kidnapping girls-the "white slave trade"
flourishes secretly in our great cities. Associations of liquor
producers and sellers are very powerful social and political forces.
One of the greatest problems before the race is how to exterminate
these human beasts of prey that live at the expense of the moral
deterioration and often utter ruin of their victims.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account