Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of EthicsDrake, Durant
Philosophy
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics
Drake, Durant
Ethics
As a matter of fact, however, we do praise and admire and love the
saints who do right easily and graciously. We do not refuse our
admiration to Christ because it was his meat and drink, his deepest
joy, to do his Father's work; nor do we imagine him as having to
wrestle with inner devils of spitefulness and ill-temper. The type
of character we rate highest is that from which all these lower impulses
have been finally banished, the character that inevitably seeks the
pure and the good. And on the other hand, as we have just seen, we
often blame the man who, with the noblest intentions, and at great
cost to himself, does what we consider wrong.
It is thus true that our reactions of praise and blame are complicated
and inconsistent. We often praise a man and blame him at the same time;
praise him for following his conscience, and blame him for having a
narrow and distorted conscience to follow. Different people in a
community will praise or blame him according as they consider this
or that aspect of his conduct. What, then, is the rationale of these
emotion-reactions?
Obviously, the same natural forces which have produced morality have,
pari passu, produced these emotions; they are one of the great means
by which men have been pushed into being moral. We praise people,
ultimately, because it is socially useful to praise them; the
approbation of one's fellows is one of the greatest possible incentives
to right conduct. We blame people that they and others may be thereby
deterred from wrongdoing. For ages these emotions have been arising
in men's hearts, veering their fellows toward moral action. Neither
blamer nor blamed has realized the purpose nature may be said to have
had in view; the emotional reaction has been instinctive, like sneezing.
But if it had not been for its eminent usefulness it would never have
developed and become so deep-rooted in us. If blame did no good, if
it did not tend to correct evildoing, it would be an unhappy and
undesirable state of mind, to be weeded out, like malice or
discouragement. Praise might be kept for its intrinsic worth, its
agreeableness, like sweet odors and pleasant colors. But actually we
need to conserve these reactions for their extrinsic value, as spurs
and correctives.
The man who acts upon a calculated expectation of consequences
is, indeed, to be praised, if the ends he has sought are good and his
calculation correct. Prudence, foresight, thoughtfulness are among
the most important virtues. On the other hand, the man who does right
instinctively is to be most admired; for to reach that goal is the aim of
much of our inner struggle. The approbation we heap upon him, if not
needed to keep him up to his best, at least is beneficial to others, who
thereby may be stimulated to imitate his goodness. Any sort of conduct
that is in line with human welfare is to be praised and loved and sung,
and kept before the minds of the young and plastic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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