The ethics of Hercules : $b A study of man's body as the sole determinant of ethical valuesGivler, Robert Chenault
Philosophy
The ethics of Hercules : $b A study of man's body as the sole determinant of ethical values
Givler, Robert Chenault
Ethics; Psychophysiology
The use of our concept in this connection is firmly bound to its
use in the preceding classes. For it is no accident that in the
mechanistic process called evolution human aims and purposes have
come to be furthered and achieved principally through the power and
skill of the arm and hand. The “right” arm and hand point reasonably
_straight_, throw missiles in a fairly direct _manner_, and their
powerful shots bring down the quarry _immediately_. (Class A.)
These parts of the body are also among the most educible and skilful
in the technique requisite for bringing about a desired end. Their
action-patterns are indeed often the very method by which ambitions
are achieved. (Class B.) And when we have reached a judgment that
is deemed to be true or in accordance with the facts of the matter
(Class C.), it is our “right” hand that is ready to be motivated
in its defence. Even the art of writing, in the original sense of
cutting, tearing, or scratching to produce a record or a design, is
not at all distantly related to the functions of this part of the
body.
With this clearly understood, the transition is easy to make to
CLASS E
_Legal “Rights”; that is, Those Claims and Interests the
Establishment and Protection of Which May Be Secured by Force and
even Violence._[14]
As used in this connection, “right” is partially equivalent to
_might_, since our concept here connotes an organized force,—a
physical power,—which, under given conditions, can be employed for
the purpose of establishing claims and protecting interests. This
organized force is popularly referred to as “the Law,” especially
by those who indulge in back-yard altercations and cry out: “If you
do that again, I’ll have the Law on you!” And the ordinary man,
whose six or seven years of public schooling have implanted in him
the fixed habit of reifying all abstractions, understands the law
as equivalent to a transcendental force of some kind which makes
his threats effective. As befits the mental calibre of such a man,
the law frequently becomes synonymous with the functions of the
police, who are naïvely supposed to know when and how to protect
everybody’s legal rights. This is an error. Not only are the police
extremely ignorant persons, but they have scarcely any legal status
whatever. They are “the tolerated remnant of the autocratic power
which absolute monarchs once exercised over their subjects.” Law and
legal rights are functions of the courts, while the police are simply
unattached huskies hired to bring into court those who do not come
there of their own initiative. We must look elsewhere for the source
of the might which legal rights are said and felt to possess, namely,
in the origin and function of law itself.
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