Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of EthicsDrake, Durant
Philosophy
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics
Drake, Durant
Ethics
Character is the sum of a man's tendencies to conduct. Our estimate
of a man's character is a sort of weather forecast of what he will
do in various situations. Goodness of character consists, then, of
such an organization of impulses as will lead to good acts-to acts
productive ultimately of a preponderance of intrinsic good, or happiness.
The blame and approval that attaches in our minds to certain acts becomes
attached also to the disposition that is fruitful of such acts. A good
man is he whose mind is so set and adjusted that it will turn away
from evil deeds and espouse the right. We can say, then, with Dewey
and Tufts, "Goodness consists in active interest in those things which
really bring happiness." [Footnote: Ethics, p. 396.] Similarly, Paulsen
writes, "Virtues may be defined as habits of the will and modes of
conduct which tend to promote the welfare of individual and collective
life." [Footnote: System of Ethics, Eng. p. 475.] And Santayana
puts it more tersely in the statement, "Goodness is that disposition
that is fruitful in happiness." [Footnote: Reason in Common Sense,
p. 144.] It is easy, then, to understand the enthusiasm that men feel
for goodness; it is the resultant of the passionate longing to be
delivered from the domination of evil impulses, the instinctive joy
in splendid and unselfish acts, the sense of relief and gratitude felt
toward those from whom one has nothing to fear. Contrariwise, the
shrinking from a bad man springs primarily from the dread of what he
may do, from the disgust which the sight of his foolish and ruinous
acts inspires and from various other reactions of the spectator which
we need not enumerate. If character were a sort of merely inward
possession, unconnected with conduct, we should not Jeel thus toward
it. Merely to FEEL virtuous is pleasant, but it is not important. Imputed
goodness must be judged by the kind of conduct it yields, and that
conduct in turn by its consequences. "By their fruits ye shall know
them." But this inward disposition, though important chiefly for its
effects, is more important therefore than we are apt to realize. "As
a man thinketh in his heart, so he is." The scientific study of
psychology has emphasized the fact, which is open to everyday
observation, that even secret thoughts and moods influence
inevitably a man's outward acts. What we do depends upon
what we have been thinking and imagining and feeling. The
Great Teacher was right when he bade men refrain not merely
from murder, but from angry thoughts; not merely from adultery,
but from lustful glances; not merely from perjury, but from the
desire to deceive. Epictetus puts it, "What we ought not to do
we should not even think of doing." And Marcus Aurelius writes,
"We should accustom ourselves to think upon othing that we
should hesitate to reveal to others if they asked to know it."
This is sound advice. Without attempting to settle the problem
of determinism or indeterminism, which falls properly within the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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