The sexual question : $b A scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological studyForel, Auguste
Science
The sexual question : $b A scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study
Forel, Auguste
Sex
=Sentiment of Duty.=--Another derivative of the sentiment of sympathy
is that of _duty_, that is the moral sense. All sentiment of love or
sympathy urges the one who loves to certain acts destined to increase
the welfare of the object loved. This is why the mother nourishes her
young and plucks feathers and hairs to make them a soft bed; and why
the father brings food to his wife and young, and defends them against
their enemies. All these acts, which are not to the advantage of the
individual but to the object or objects of his sympathy, exact more or
less laborious efforts, courage in the face of danger, etc. They thus
provoke an internal struggle between the sentiment of sympathy and
egoism, or the unpleasantness of undertaking things which are
troublesome and disagreeable for the individual himself. From this
struggle between two opposed series of sentiments is derived a third
group of complex or mixed sentiments, that of duty, or _moral
conscience_. When the sentiment of sympathy prevails, when the animal
does his duty toward his young and his conjoint, he feels a sentiment
of pleasure, of duty accomplished. If, on the contrary, he has been
negligent, the egoistic instincts having for the moment prevailed, the
remorse of conscience results, that is the painful uneasiness which
follows all disobedience to the instinctive sentiments of sympathy.
This uneasiness accumulates in the brain in the form of
self-discontent, and may lead to an accentuated sentiment of
_repentance_.
These phenomena exist both in the male and in the female, and if it
was not so, the accomplishment of duty would be impossible; the cat
would run away instead of defending her young; would eat her prey
instead of giving it to them, etc. We thus see the elements of human
social sentiment already very marked in many animals. Remorse and
repentance can only be formed on the basis of preëxisting sentiments
of sympathy.
=Sentiment of Kinship.=--A higher degree of the sentiments of sympathy
is developed when these do not remain limited to a temporary union,
but when the union of the sexes is transformed into durable or even
life-long marriage, as we see in monkeys and in most birds. In another
manner the sentiments of sympathy are developed by extension of the
family community to a greater number of individuals, who are grouped
together for the common defense, as we see in swallows, crows, and to
a higher degree, in the large organized communities of social animals,
as the beavers, bees, ants, etc. In the latter, the sentiment of
sympathy and duty nearly always affects all the individuals of the
community, while anger and jealousy are extended toward every being
which does not form part of it.
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