Any theory of right and wrong must take account of the fact
that morality, unlike art, science, and religion, is not an exclusively
human affair. In contrast with these late and purely human innovations,
it is hoary with antiquity and the possession, in some rudimentary
form or other, of nearly the whole realm of organic life.
What were the main causes that produced personal morality?
How did these germinal forms of courage, prudence, industriousness,
etc, first come into existence? The answer to this question will also
show what are the main underlying causes that promote these virtues
today.
(1) They are in part due to certain organic needs and cravings which
exist independently of the individual's environment. Hunger and thirst
imperiously check the tendency to laziness, or heedlessness, and
stimulate to industriousness and prudence. To this day the mere need
of food and clothing and shelter is the main bulwark of these virtues.
The acquisitive impulse, which is also rather early in appearance,
has an increasing share in this sort of moralization. The craving for
action, which is the natural result of abundant nervous and muscular
energy, the combative instinct, the joy of conquest and achievement,
and the sexual impulse, go far in counteracting cowardice and inertia.
The artistic impulse, when it emerges in man, long before the dawn
of history, makes against caprice for orderliness, self-control, and
patience.
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