H. Spencer, Data of Ethics (also published as the first part of his
Principles of Ethics), chap. I and chap. II, through sec. 4; or J.
Fiske, Cosmic Philosophy, part II, chap, XXII, first half, to "We are
now prepared to deal." L. T. Hobhouse, Morals in Evolution, part
I, chap. I, secs. 1-4. I. King, Development of Religion, pp. 48-59
A great mass of concrete material will be found in E. Westermarck's
Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, H. O. Taylor's Ancient Ideals,
W. E. H. Leeky's History of European Morals.
CHAPTER II
THE ORIGIN OF SOCIAL MORALITY
How early was social morality developed?
By social morality we mean, concretely, such virtues as tender and
fostering love, sympathy, obedience, subordination of selfish instincts
to group-demands, the service of other individuals or of the group.
These habits are later in development than some of the personal
virtues, but long antedate the differentiation of man from the other
animals. Instances of self-sacrificing devotion of parent to offspring
among birds and beasts are too common to need mention. Devotion to
the mate, though less developed, is early present in many species.
The strict subordination of ants and bees to the common welfare is
a well-known marvel, the latter enthusiastically and poetically
described by Maeterlinck in his delightful Life of the Bees. The stern
requirements of obedience to the unwritten laws of the herd, which
make powerful so many species of animals individually weak, are
graphically, though of course with exaggeration, set forth by Kipling
in his Jungle Book.
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