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
6. As deduced from Class F. Moral “rights” are all those unsecured
claims and inexactly specified interests whose only protection
is the approval and disapproval of the community, reinforced at
times by an appeal to a super-human protagonist. A comparison
between the motor-attitudes implied by Class E and Class F reveals
several important differences. Juristic thinking, which we may for
convenience characterize as the attitude implied by Class E, is on
the whole logically coherent; moralistic thinking, on the contrary,
commits every known logical fallacy. Again, juristic thinking is
content to regard human problems capable of solution at the hands of
human beings, and to consider that the verdicts of unruffled men and
of men expert in their lines is final; while moralistic thinking is
ever prone to employ methods which, on account of their provincialism
and importunity, do not stand analysis at the hands of unbiased
investigators. Finally, the “higher judge” which moralists assert
stands behind the claims they make, is simply a misinterpretation of
the meaning of long unrelieved tensions which have accumulated in
their skeletal muscles. For while we do not declare that all claims
unsecured by law are ethically invalid, we do nevertheless assert
that the typical moralist’s attitude toward all such unsecured claims
is not one that is suited to bridge the gap between our liquid matter
and its good. Nevertheless, we may say without equivocation that
behind every declaration of moral rights there is an anxiety lest
some dependable good be lost, and this motor attitude we conceive to
be the greatest common divisor of all the significations included
under Class F.
7. As deduced from Class G. Although this class resembles the
preceding one in that it refers to customs whose maintenance depends
upon the approval and disapproval of the group, Class G lacks all
of the fiercely Stoical and Puritanical elements found in Class
F, just as it lacks the logical rigor pertaining to Class E. The
action-patterns implied by this present class are rather those of a
courteous gentleman, who persuades whenever he can by a gesture, but
who does not try twice to persuade those who will not yield to that
kind of a suggestion.
8. As deduced from Class H. Since “right” here signifies that which
is convenient, desirable, favorable, etc., the action-patterns which
it implies are practically identical with those of the first three
classes of “good.” Certainly every example previously cited under
this class points to an outgoing reaction.
9. As deduced from Class I. The adverbial use of our concept here
implies merely a gesture of positive emphasis that may be added to
any other action-pattern.
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