第5章

Thelastsentencesuggestsonemoreexplanation，which，forclearness’sake，itseemsdesirabletomake:anexplanation，however，ratheroftheplanandpurposeofthepresenttreatisethanofthenatureandboundariesofthesubjectofEthicsasgenerallyunderstood。

Thereareseveralrecognisedwaysoftreatingthissubject，noneofwhichIhavethoughtitdesirabletoadopt。Wemaystartwithexistingsystems，andeitherstudythemhistorically，tracingthechangesinthoughtthroughthecenturies，orcompareandclassifythemaccordingtorelationsofresemblance，orcriticisetheirinternalcoherence。

Orwemayseektoaddtothenumberofthesesystems:andclaimaftersomanyunsuccessfuleffortstohaveatlastattainedtheonetruetheoryofthesubject，bywhichallothersmaybetested。Thepresentbookcontainsneithertheexpositionofasystemnoranaturalorcriticalhistoryofsystems。IhaveattemptedtodefineandunfoldnotoneMethodofEthics，butseveral:atthesametimethesearenotherestudiedhistorically，asmethodsthathaveactuallybeenusedorproposedfortheregulationofpractice；butratherasalternativesbetweenwhich——sofarastheycannotbereconciled——thehumanmindseemstomenecessarilyforcedtochoose，whenitattemptstoframeacompletesynthesisofpracticalmaximsandtoactinaperfectlyconsistentmanner。Thus，theymightperhapsbecallednaturalmethodsrationalised；becausemencommonlyseemtoguidethemselvesbyamixtureofdifferentmethods，moreorlessdisguisedunderambiguitiesoflanguage。Theimpulsesorprinciplesfromwhichthedifferentmethodstaketheirrise，thedifferentclaimsofdifferentendstoberational，areadmitted，tosomeextent，byallminds:andasalongwiththeseclaimsisfelttheneedofharmonisingthem——sinceitis，aswassaid，apostulateofthePracticalReason，thattwoconflictingrulesofactioncannotbothbereasonable——theresultisordinarilyeitheraconfusedblending，oraforcedandprematurereconciliation，ofdifferentprinciplesandmethods。

Norhavethesystemsframedbyprofessedmoralistsbeenfreefromsimilardefects。Thewritershaveusuallyproceededtosynthesiswithoutadequateanalysis；thepracticaldemandfortheformerbeingmoreurgentlyfeltthanthetheoreticalneedofthelatter。ForhereasinotherpointsthedevelopmentofthetheoryofEthicswouldseemtobesomewhatimpededbythepreponderanceofpracticalconsiderations；andperhapsamorecompletedetachmentofthetheoreticalstudyofrightconductfromitspracticalapplicationistobedesiredforthesakeevenofthelatteritself:sinceatreatmentwhichisacompoundbetweenthescientificandthehortatoryisapttomissboththeresultsthatitwouldcombine；themixtureisbewilderingtothebrainandnotstimulatingtotheheart。Soagain，Iaminclinedtothinkthathere，asinothersciences，itwouldbeanadvantagetodrawasdistinctalineaspossiblebetweentheknownandtheunknown；astheclearindicationofanunsolvedproblemisatanyrateasteptoitssolution。

Inethicaltreatises，however，therehasbeenacontinualtendencytoignoreandkeepoutofsightthedifficultiesofthesubject；eitherunconsciously，fromalatentconvictionthatthequestionswhichthewritercannotanswersatisfactorilymustbequestionswhichoughtnottobeasked；orconsciously，thathemaynotshaketheswayofmoralityoverthemindsofhisreaders。

Thislastwell-meantprecautionfrequentlydefeatsitself:thedifficultiesthusconcealedinexpositionareliabletoreappearincontroversy:andthen，theyappearnotcarefullylimited，butmagnifiedforpolemicalpurposes。

Thuswegetontheonehandvagueandhazyreconciliation，ontheotherlooseandrandomexaggerationofdiscrepancies；andneitherprocessiseffectivetodispelthe，originalvaguenessandambiguitywhichlurksinthefundamentalnotionsofourcommonpracticalreasonings。ToeliminateorreducethisindefinitenessandconfusionisthesoleimmediateendthatIhaveproposedtomyselfinthepresentwork。Inorderbettertoexecutethistask，Ihaverefrainedfromexpresslyattemptinganysuchcompleteandfinalsolutionofthechiefethicaldifficultiesandcontroversiesaswouldconvertthisexpositionofvariousmethodsintothedevelopmentofaharmonioussystem。AtthesametimeIhopetoaffordaidtowardstheconstructionofsuchasystem；becauseitseemseasiertojudgeofthemutualrelationsandconflictingclaimsofdifferentmodesofthought，afteranimpartialandrigorousinvestigationoftheconclusionstowhichtheylogicallylead。Itisnotuncommontofindinreflectingonpracticalprinciples，that——howeverunhesitatinglytheyseemtocommandourassentatfirstsight，andhoweverfamiliarandapparentlyclearthenotionsofwhichtheyarecomposed——neverthelesswhenwehavecarefullyexaminedtheconsequencesofadoptingthemtheywearachangedandsomewhatdubiousaspect。Thetruthseemstobethatmostofthepracticalprinciplesthathavebeenseriouslyputforwardaremoreorlesssatisfactorytothecommonsenseofmankind，solongastheyhavethefieldtothemselves。Theyallfindaresponseinournature:theirfundamentalassumptionsareallsuchaswearedisposedtoaccept，andsuchaswefindtogoverntoacertainextentourhabitualconduct。WhenIamasked，``Doyounotconsideritultimatelyreasonabletoseekpleasureandavoidpainforyourself？’’``Haveyounotamoralsense？’’``Doyounotintuitivelypronouncesomeactionstoberightandotherswrong？’’``Doyounotacknowledgethegeneralhappinesstobeaparamountend？’’Ianswer`yes’toallthesequestions。MydifficultybeginswhenIhavetochoosebetweenthedifferentprinciplesorinferencesdrawnfromthem。Weadmitthenecessity，whentheyconflict，ofmakingthischoice，andthatitisirrationaltoletsometimesoneprincipleprevailandsometimesanother；butthenecessityisapainfulone。Wecannotbuthopethatallmethodsmayultimatelycoincide:andatanyrate，beforemakingourelectionwemayreasonablywishtohavethecompletestpossibleknowledgeofeach。

Myobject，then，inthepresentwork，istoexpoundasclearlyandasfullyasmylimitswillallowthedifferentmethodsofEthicsthatIfindimplicitinourcommonmoralreasoning；topointouttheirmutualrelations；andwheretheyseemtoconflict，todefinetheissueasmuchaspossible。InthecourseofthisendeavourIamledtodiscusstheconsiderationswhichshould，inmyopinion，bedecisiveindeterminingtheadoptionofethicalfirstprinciples:butitisnotmyprimaryaimtoestablishsuchprinciples；nor，again，isitmyprimaryaimtosupplyasetofpracticaldirectionsforconduct。Ihavewishedtokeepthereader’sattentionthroughoutdirectedtotheprocessesratherthantheresultsofethicalthought:andhavethereforeneverstatedasmyownanypositivepracticalconclusionsunlessbywayofillustration:

andhaveneverventuredtodecidedogmaticallyanycontrovertedpoints，exceptwherethecontroversyseemedtoarisefromwantofprecisionorclearnessinthedefinitionofprinciples，orwantofconsistencyinreasoning。

InthelastchapterIhavespokenofEthicsandPoliticsasbeingbothPracticalStudies，includinginthescopeoftheirinvestigationsomewhatthatliesoutsidethesphereofpositivesciences——viz。

thedeterminationofendstobesought，orrulestobeunconditionallyobeyed。Beforeproceedingfurther，itwouldseemdesirabletodetermineinoutlinethemutualrelationsofthesecognatestudies，regardedfromthepointofviewofEthics。

AsIhavedefinedthem，Ethicsaimsatdeterminingwhatoughttobedonebyindividuals，whilePoliticsaimsatdeterminingwhatthegovernmentofastateorpoliticalsocietyoughttodoandhowitoughttobeconstituted，——includingunderthelatterheadallquestionsastothecontrolovergovernmentthatshouldbeexercisedbythegoverned。

AtfirstsightitmayseemthatPolitics，soconceived，mustbeabranchofEthics。Foralltheactionsofgovernmentareactionsofindividuals，aloneorincombination，andsoarealltheactionsofthosewho，obeying，influencing，orperhapsoccasionallyresistinggovernment，maintainandfromtimetotimemodifytheconstitutionoftheirstate:

anditwouldseemthatifproperlyperformedsuchactionsmustbedeterminedonethicalprinciplesorbecapableofjustificationbysuchprinciples。

Butthisargumentisnotdecisive；forbysimilarreasoningEthicswouldhavetocomprehendallarts，liberalandindustrial。E。g。itisamainpartofthemoraldutyofasea-captainandhissubordinatestonavigatetheirshipproperly；butwedonottakeEthicstoincludeastudyoftherulesofnavigation。Itmayberepliedthateverymanisnotasailor，but——atleastinacountryunderpopulargovernment——everycitizenhasimportantpoliticalduties，whichheoughttoperformaccordingtoknowledge，sopfaraspossible；but，similarly，itisanimportantpartofeveryadult’smoraldutytotakecareofhishealth，anditisproverbialthat``everymanatfortyisafoolorhisownphysician’’；yetwedonotconsiderEthicstoincludetheartofmedicine。

ThespeciallyimportantconnexionbetweenEthicsandPoliticsarisesinadifferentway。Itisthebusinessofgovernment，bylayingdownandenforcinglaws，toregulatetheoutwardconductofthegoverned，notinonedepartmentonly，butinalltheirsocialrelations，sofarassuchconductisapropersubjectforcoerciverules。Andnotonlyoughtthisregulationtobeinharmonywithmorality——forobviouslypeopleoughtnottobecompelledtodowhattheyoughtnottodo——butfurther，toanimportantextenttheLawofaman’sstatewillproperlydeterminethedetailsofhismoralduty，evenbeyondthesphereoflegalenforcement。Thuswecommonlyregarditasanindividual’smoralduty，undertheheadofJustice，to``giveeverymanhisown’’，evenwhen——throughsomeaccident——theotherpartyhasnotthepoweroflegallyenforcinghisright；butstill，inconsideringwhatistheother’s``own’’，weassumehimgenerallytobeguidedbythelawofhisstate；ifthatwerechanged，hismoraldutywouldchangewithit。Similarly，themutualmoraldutiesofhusbandsandwives，andofchildrenandparents，willvaryindetailwiththevariationsintheirlegalrelations。

ButwhenwelookcloserattherelationthusconstitutedbetweenEthicsandPolitics，weseethatadistinctionhastobetakenbetweenactualorPositiveLawandIdealLaworLawasitoughttobe。

ItisforthelatterthatPoliticalTheorylaysdownprinciples；butitisPositive，notIdeal，Lawthatprimarilydeterminesrightconductforanindividualhereandnow，inthemannerjustexemplified。NodoubtifPositiveandIdealLawappeartometodivergeverywidely——if(e。g。)

Iamconvincedbypoliticaltheorythatafundamentalchangeinthelawofpropertyisdesirable——thisconvictionislikelytoinfluencemyviewofmymoraldutyundertheexistinglaw；buttheextentofthisinfluenceisvagueanduncertain。SupposeIamaslave-ownerinasocietyinwhichslaveryisestablished，andbecomeconvincedthatprivatepropertyinhumanbeingsshouldbeabolishedbylaw:itdoesnotthereforefollowthatI

shallregarditasmymoraldutytosetfreemyslavesatonce。Imaythinkimmediategeneralabolitionofslaverynotonlyhopeless，buteveninexpedientfortheslavesthemselves，whorequireagradualeducationforfreedom:

sothatitisbetterforthepresenttoaimatlegalchangesthatwouldcutofftheworstevilsofslavery，andmeanwhiletosetanexampleofhumaneandconsideratetreatmentofbondsmen。Similarreasoningsmightbeappliedtotheabolitionofprivatepropertyintheinstrumentsofproduction，orinappointmentstooffices，civilorecclesiastical。Speakinggenerally，theextenttowhichpoliticalidealsoughttoinfluencemoraldutywouldseemtodependpartlyontheapparentremotenessornearnessoftheprospectofrealisingtheideal，partlyonitsimperativeness，ortheexpediencyofimmediaterealisation:andtheforceattachedtoboththeseconsiderationsislikelytovarywiththepoliticalmethodadopted；sothatitbelongstoPoliticsratherthanEthicstodeterminethemmoreprecisely。

Tosumup:wehavetodistinguishclearlybetweentwoquestions:(1)howfarthedeterminationofrightconductforanindividualhereandnowoughttobeinfluencedbyPositiveLaws，andothercommandsofGovernmentasactuallyestablished；and(2)howfaritoughttobeinfluencedbyPoliticalTheory，astothefunctionsandstructureofGovernmentasitoughttobe。Asregardstheformer，itclearlybelongstoEthicstodeterminethegroundsandlimitsofobediencetoGovernment；

andalsothegeneralconceptionofpoliticalduty，sofarasitgoesbeyondmereobedience-withduerecognitionofthelargevariationsduetothevaryingpoliticalconditionsofdifferentstates。(A``goodcitizen’’intheUnitedStateswillreasonablyformaconceptionofhisactualpoliticaldutywidelydivergentfromthatreasonablyformedbyagoodcitizeninRussia。)AndthiswillbetheprimarybusinessofEthicssofarasitdealswiththepoliticalsideoflife。Thediscussionofpoliticalidealswillonlycomewithinitspurviewinamoreindefiniteandindirectway，sofarassuchidealscannotbuthavesomeinfluenceonthedeterminationofpoliticaldutyunderexistingconditions。