" But until we are saints it is wise for us to
cultivate conscientiousness, the habit of obedience, even
when it costs, to that inward urging which is, on the whole,
for most of us, our safest guide.
F. Paulsen, System of Ethics, book II, chap. V, secs. 1, 2, 5. H.
Spencer, DATA OF ETHICS, chap. VII, secs. 44-46. S. E. Mezes,
ETHICS, DESCRIPTIVE AND EXPLANATORY, chaps. V, VIII.
Sutherland, op. cit, chap. XV. F. Thilly, INTRODUCTION TO
ETHICS, chap. III. Westermarck, op. cit, chap. V. Darwin,
DESCENT OF MAN, partt. I, chap. III. J. H. Hyslop, ELEMENTS
OF ETHICS, chaps. VI, VII. J. S. Mill, UTILITARIANISM, chap.
v. H. W. Wright, SELF-REALIZATION, part. I, chap. IV.
CHAPTER V
THE INDIVIDUALIZING OF CONSCIENCE
Conscience as we have seen, is the result of a fusion of elements
coming from personal experience and tribal judgment. In its early
phases the latter elements predominate; conscience may be fairly called
the inner side of custom. Primitive men have little individuality and
involuntarily reflect the general attitude. But with widening
experience and growing mental maturity, conscience, like man's other
faculties, tends to become more individual and divergent, until we
find, in civilized life, a man standing out for conscience' sake
against the opinion of the world. The individualization of conscience,
with the consequent clash of ideals, gives the study of morality much
of its interest and difficulty; it will be worthwhile to note some
of its causes.
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