(2) Our impulses often clash. And since, as we have just said, the
relative worth to us of the acts is not always accurately represented
by the impulses, we need to stand off and compare them impartially.
No single passion must be allowed to run amuck; the opposing voices,
however feeble, must be heard. When desires are at loggerheads, when
a deadlock of interests arises-an almost daily occurrence when life'
is kept at a white heat-there must be some moderator, some governing
power. Morality is the principle of coordination, the harmonizer, the
arbitrator of conflicting claims.
(3) We often lack impulses which would add much to the worth of our
lives; we are blind to all sorts of opportunities for rich and joyous
living. We need to develop our latent needs, to expand our natures
to their full potentiality, to learn to love many things we have not
cared for. In general we ignore the joys that we have not ourselves
experienced or imagined, and those which belong to a different realm
from that of our temporary enthusiasms. A lovesick swain, an opium
fiend, are utterly unable to respond to the lure of outdoor sport or
the joy of the well-doing of work; these joys, though perhaps
acknowledged as real possibilities for them, fail to attract their
wills, touch no chord in them, have no influence on their choices.
Morality is the great eye-opener and insistent reminder of ignored
goods.
(4) We often have perverted impulses.
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