XIV. Summary of Inductions

Testimonies concerning moral traits are hence liable to perversion. }'Iany of the peoples grouped under the same name SUMMARY OF INDUC'TIONS~ 465 present.· considerable .diversities of·.·:charae,ter.: instance:the Australians, ·of .whom it .. ·.is,"remarked that some ,tribes are quiet and 't~actablewhHe o.thersare· hoisterous, Bind difficult to deal with. Further, the conduct,sentiments, ,itndideas o.f nati vepeoples' .• often .. undergo .such changes<that"traveUers between whose "visits ·.•·many'year.s '. have.,· elapsed, .give.. quite different accounts. The original feeliogsand. beliefs are frequently. obscured . by.. missionary ..influences",and,.inastill greater degree, by contact with, white < .traders> and settlers. From all.··parts of the world. we get proofs that aborigines are· degraded by .intercourse' .. with: Europ~f;L:qs. ..Here;. theJl, arefurthercauseswhicu>'distort the;evidellce ..

Yet again ··,there are;the ·complications.· .consequent.on changes of:: habitats and. occupatiOJ1$.In .. this place tribes are forced into antagonism. with. their .. neighbours, and:in that.placetheyare led into· quiet lives.:. oneofthe.re&ults being that conceptions ··andfeelings .apprQpriate to an ante-: cedentstate,·.surviving·.for·a long time ina subsequent.state, appear incongruQuswith it~ Thus we must expect to meet withanomali~s, and fiuet.,be content withC0nclusions. which. hold. true.· on the,average. § 189. Before ·.we can 'fully understand the· significance of the inductions· dr3!wn;we 'Junst •.reconsider the. essential nature·o£social co",operatiol1.,A.s we pointed· out inc § 48, from.' thesQciological pointo~ view,.":ethics., becomesnoth ing,·else·ihan a.definite account. of.' the, forms. of conduct that are fitted' to .the associated state:;. "andin .' subsequent sections< itwasluade .' clear. that, rising.abovethoseearliest groups, in ,which. the •. individuals ,simply .. Iivein, contiguity, without mutual. interferen:ee .and .without '. mutual. aid, .the associated;stateccanbe .maintainedonly,byeffectualco-Qper ation:,now£or' external defence,uowfor.internal.sustentation.

That· is to . say"....the prosperity .of ,societies:' depends,.·,.... other things equal, on the extep.ts to which· there are .fulfilled .in them:the conditionstosuch>co~operation ......··Whence, thro~gh 466 THE INDUOTIONS OF ETHIOS. survival of the fittest, it follows that principles of conduct hnplying observance of these conditions, and sentiments en~ listed in support of such principles, become dominant; while principles of conduct which concern only such parts of the lives of individuals as do not obviously affect social cooperation, do not acquire sanctions of. such pronounced and consistent kinds. This appears to be the explanation of the fact which must have struck many readers of the last two chapters, that the ideas and sentiments respecting temperance and chastity, display less intelligible relations to social type and social developnlent, than do the ideas and sentiInents COl1cern ingco-operative conduct, internal and external. For if, scattered throughout the conlmunity, there are men who eat or drink to excess, such evils as are entailed on the community are indirect. There is, in the first place, no direct interference with military efficiency, so long as within the armed force there is no such drunkenness or gluttony as sensibly affects discipline. And in the second place, there is no direct interference with the process of social sustentation, so long as one who eats or drinks to excess does not aggr~ss upon his neighbour or in any way incon venience him. While erring in either of these ,vays, a man may respect the persons and property of his fellows and filay invariably fulfil his contracts-nlay, therefore, obey the fundamental principles of social cooperation. What ever detriment society receives frolll his conduct arises from the deterioration in one of its units. Much the same thing holds with disregard of chastity; there is no necessary or immediate interference ,vith the carrying on of coopera tions, either external or internal; but the evil caused is an ultimate lowering of the population in nUlnber or quality,.

In both these cases the social consciousness, not distinctly awakened to the social results, does not always generate consistent social sentiInents. It is otherwise with those kinds of conduct which directly SUMMARY OF INDUCTIONS. 4G1 and obviously transgress the conditions .to social coopera.. tion, external or internal. Cowardice,_,. or insubordination, diminishes in a very obvious way the efficiency of a fighting body; and' hence, in respect of these, there are readily established consistent ideas and sentilnents. So, too, the murdering or assaulting of fellow citizens, the taking away their goods, the breaking of contracts with them, are actions which so conspicuously conflict with the actions constituting social life, that reprobation of them is with tolerable regularIty produced. Hence, though there are wide divergences of opinion and of feeling relative to such classes o£ offences in different so'cieties, yet we find these related to divergences in the types of social activities -one or other set of reprobations being pronounced ac cor~ing ~s one or other set of activities is most domi nant.

Taken together, the preceding chapters show us a group of moral traits proper to a life .of external enmity. Where the predoluinant social cooperations take the form' of constant .fighting with adjacent peoples, there grows np a pride in aggression and robbery, revenge becomes an imperative duty, skilful lying is creditable, and (save in small tribes which do not develop) obedience to despotic leaders and rulers is the greatest virtue; at the same time there. is a contempt for industry, and only such smallre gard for justice within the society as is required to main tain its existence.' On the other hand, where the pre donlinant social cooperations have internal sustentation for their end, while cooperations against external enemies have either greatly diminished or disappeared, unprovoked aggression brings but partial applause or none at all; robbery, even of enenlies, ceases tQ be creditable; revenge is no longer thought a necessity; lying is unhrersally reprobated; justice in the transactions of citizens with OIle.another i~ insisted upon; political obedience is' so far qualified that sllblnission t() a despot is held contemptible; 468 THEINDUOTIONS OF ETHIOS.

and industry, instead of being considered disgraceful, is considered as, in some) form or other, hnperative on everyone. Of course the varieties of nature inherite4 by different kinds of men from the past, the effects of customs sanctified by age, the .influences of religious creeds, together with the cirCUlnstancespeculiar to each society, complicate and qualify these relations; but in their broad outlines they are" suffi ciently clear--as clear as we can expect thelll to be. §190. Hence the. fact that the ethical ,sentiments pre vailing'in different societies, and in the same society under different conditions, are sometimes diametrically opposed. Multitudinous.proofs of. this truth have, been given in pre ceding chapters, but it will be well here· to enforce it by a series of antitheses. Among-ourselves, to have committed a murder disgraces for all time a luan's memory, and disgraces for generations all who are related to him; but by thePathansaquite unlike senthnent is displayed. One who had killed a Mollah (priest), and failed· to find refuge froln the avengers, said at length :-' "I can but be a martyr. I will go and kill a Sahib." lIe was hanged after shooting a·sergeant,perfectly satisfied" at having expiated his offence."

The prevailing ethical sentiment in Englandis such that a man who should allow hiInsel£· to be taken possession oiand Inade an unresisting. slave, would be regarded with scorn; but the people of Drekete,a slave-district of Fiji, "said it was their duty tobeconle food and. sacrificesfof the chiefs," and " that they were honoured by being considered adequate to such a noble task." Less extreme, though akin in nature, is the contrast be tween the feelings which our own history has recorded 'vdthin these few centuries. In Elizabeth's time, Sir John Hawkins initiated the slave trade, and in commemoration of the achievelnent was allowed to put in his coat of arms" a 469 demi..moor'proper:bound'witha cord:" the honourableness of his action being' thusassumedbyhimsel£ 'and recognized by Queen and ,public. Eutin our days, the making slaves of men,cal1edby<Wesley·';the:snm of all villainies," iRrcgarded with "detestation ;and£or'manyyearsweluaintained:afleet to suppress the slave-trade.

Peoples who have enlerged from the primitive family ..and,clanorgariization"hold .', that' one who is" guiltyof 'a crime luusthimself bear the punishment, and,itis,thought 'extreme injustice; that the punishment .should fan upon anyone else; but our 'rernoteancestors thought and felt differently, as do still the Australians, 'whose" firstgreatprineiplewithregard to punishment is, that 'all therelativesofa culprit, in the evento£ his not 'being Iound,are iUlplicateddn his guilt :" "the brothers:of the criminal conceive themselves to be quite as guilty as he is." By the civilized, tlle individualities of WOlnen are so far recognized:,that' thelifeandJibertyof'a wi£e are not supposed' to ,be .,'bonnd'.' np with ,those,'of her husband ;, and shenow,having > obtained ,a, right to exclusive possession of property','contends:£orcomplete)ndependence, domestic and political. - ~ut" it is, .or 'was, otherwise ',in Piji. "The' wives of theFijian.chiefscoDsider< ita'sacredduty to suffer strangu lation on the deaths of their husbands. A wOluanwho had beenrescned .by Williams "escaped during the night, and, swimming across the river, and presenting h~rse]ftoher # own people, insisted: on the completion. of the sacrifice which she had 'iu" a moment of weakness ','reluctantly consented to forego; "andWilkesteHs 'ofanother who loadedherrescu~r "withabuse, arnd ever afterwards manifested the.most deadly hatred towards' him."

!Iere,all~l:,on' the:Continent, ,the religions,prohibition of the£tand thelegalpl1nishment ofjt,are joined with a strong .social reprobation ;80 that theoftenceof a thief is never condonedr ,In Beloochistan, however, quite contrary ideas and' feelings are.,current. 'There" a favourit~ couplet' is to 470 THE· INDUCTIONS OF ETHICS. the effect that the Biloch who steals and nlurders, secures hea'ven to seven generations of ancestors." In this· part of the world reprobation of untruthfulness is strongly expressed, alike by the gentleman and the labourer. But in many parts of the world it is not so. In Blantyre, for example, according to Macdonald, "to be called a liar is rather a compliment." English sentiment is such that the mere suspicion of in continence on the part of a woman is enough to blight her life; but there are peoples whose sentiments entail no such effect, and in some cases a reverse effect is produced: "un chastity is with the Wotyaks a virtue."

So that in respect of all the leading divisions of hUlnan conduct, different races of men, and the same races at differ ent stages, entertain opposite beliefs and display opposite Jeelings. § 191. I was about to say that the evidence set forth in foregoing chapters, brought to a focus in the above section, must dissipate once for all the belief in a Inoral sense as com monly entertained. But a long experience prevents me from expecting this. AUlong men at large, life-long convictions are not to be destroyed either by conclusive arguments or multitudinous facts. Only to those who are not by creed or cherished theory committed to the hypothesis of a supernaturally created humanity, will the evidence prove that the human mind has no originally implanted conscience. Though, as shown in ll}Y first work, Social Statics, I once espoused the doctrine of the intuitive Inoralists (at the outset in full, and in later chapters with some implied qualifications), yet it has gradually become clear to me that the qualifications re quired practically obliterate the doctrine as enunciated by them. I t has become clear to me that if, among our selves, the current belief is that a man ,vho robs and does not repent will be eternally danll1ed, while an accepted 471 proverb among the· Bilochs is that-" God ·will not favour a luan who does not steal and rob," it is impossible to hold that men have in common an innate perception of right and wrong.

But now, while we are shown that ·the moral-sense doctrine in its original form is not true, we· are also shown that it adumbrates a truth, and a nluch higher truth. For the facts cited, chapter after chapter, unite in proving that the -sentiments .and ideas current in each society become adjustea to the kinds of activity predominating in it. A life of constant external enmity generates a code. in which aggression, conquest, revenge, are inculcated, while peaceful occupations are reprobated. Conversely, a Hfeof settled internal amity generates a code inculcating the -virtues con ducing to harmonious cooperation-justice, honesty, veracity, regard for other's claims. And the hnplication is that if the life of internal amity continues unbroken from generation to generation, there" must result not only the appropriate code, but the appropriate emotional llature-a moral sense adapted to the moral requirements. Men-so conditioned will acquire to the degree needful· for complete guidance, ·that innate _conscience which the intuitive moralists errone ously suppose to be possessed by mankind at large. There needs but a continuance of absolute peace externally, and a rigorous insistence \on non-aggression internally, to -ensure the 'moulding of men into a form naturally characterized by all the virtues.

This general induction is reinforced by a special induc tion. Now as displaying this high trait of nature, now as displaying that, I have instanced those various uncivilized peoples who, inferior to us in-other .respects, are morally ,superior to us; and have _pointed out that they are one and all free from inter-tribal antagonisms. The peoples showing this connexion are of various races. In the Indian hills, we find some who are by origin Mongolian, Kolarian, Dravidian; in the forests _of lVIalacca,Burmah,and in secluded parts. of 472 THE INDUOTIONS OFETHIOS. China, exist such tribes of yet other bloods; in the East Indian Archipelago, are some belonging to the Papuan stock; in Japan there are the amiable ,Ainos, who "have no traditions of internecine strife;" and in North lVlexicoex ists yet another such people unrelated to the rest, the Pueblos. N o more conclusive proof could be wished than that supplied by these isolated groups of men "who, widely remote in, locality and differing in race, are alike in the two respects, that circumstances have long exempted them from war and that they are now organically good. .

The goodness which may be attained to under these con ditions. excites. the wonder of those who .·know only such goodness as is attained by peoples· who plume themselves on their superiority. Witness General FJtche'scomment on the .·report of Mr.O'Riley concerning the Let;..htas·:-" The account given by him of their appreciation of moral good ness, and the purity of their ·lives, as· compared with the semi-civilized tribes amongst whom they dwell, almost savours of romance." lfay'\ve not reasonably infer that the ·state reached by these snlalluncultured tribes maybe reached by the great cultured 'nations, when the life of internal amity shall be un qualified by the life of external enrnity? § 192~ .That the contemplation of suchan eventuality will be agreeable to all, I do not suppose. To the many who, in the East, tacitly assunle that Indians exist for the benefit of Anglo-Indians,it will give no pleasure. Such a condition will probably seem llndesirable to rnen who hire themselves out to shoot other men to order,asking nothing about the justice of their cause, and think themselves·· absolved by .a cOlnmand {rOlTI Downing Street. As, among anthropophagi, the. suppression. of man-eating is not favourably regarded; so in. sociophagous nations Jikeours, not luuch pleasure is caused by contemplating the cessation of conquests. No strong desire for such a state can be felt by our leading General,,;who ,says that tbe., duties O£'"a.:·soldier, "are the noblest ,that fall to ,man's]ot/' and whose motto· is--:-"Mal1is asa .wolf,towards ;hisJellow man."

N or, strange thQugh it appears, will this prospect be rejoiced.,overeven .by .,.those who. preach" peace and good will -,toj'men;;'~ Jor. the prospect is. not. presented inass()cia tion:with .their creed. ,The. belief ..'that hunlanity r~a~he made righteons<onlyhy- •.' acceptanceo£ theOhristian,seheme,. isdrreconcilable,,~ with the conclusio~ .that humanity;.may be', moulded· into an ddealform ,bythe.continued ..disciplineof peaceful cooperation. Better far to our· theologians seems the doctrine that man, intrinsically bad, can be made good only by promises of heaven and threats of hell, than does the doctrine that man, not intrinsically bad, will become good under conditions which' exercise the higher feelings and give no scope for the lower. Facts which apparently show that ,.unchristianized human nature is incurably vicious, give to them satisfaction as justifying their religion; and evid~nce tending to prove the contrary is repugnant as showing that their religion is untrue.

And it is by no means certain that their attitude is to be. regretted; for there has to be maintained a congruity between the prevailing cult and the social state and the average nature. If anyone says that the men who form the land-grabbing nations of Europe, cannot be ruled in their daily lives by an ethical sentiment, but must have it enforced by the fear of damnation, I am not prepared to contradict him. If a writer who, according to those "Tho know, represents truly the natures of the gentlemen we send abroad,sympathetically describes one" of them as saying to soldiers shooting down tribes fighting for their inde pendence-" Give 'em hell, men;" I think those are pos sibly right who contend that such natures are to be kept in check only by fear of a God who will "give 'eIn hell" jf they nlisbehave. It is, I admit, a tenable supposition that belief in a deity who calmly looks on while myriads of his 474 r.rHE INDUOTIONS OF ETHIOS.

creatures suffer eternal torments, m~y fitly survive dur ing a state of the world in which naked barbarians and barbarians in skins are being overrun by barbarians in broadcloth. But to the few who, looking back on the changes "vrhich past thousands of years have \vitnessed, look forward to the kindred changes which future thousands of years may be expected to bring, it will be a satisfaction to contemplate a humanity so adapted to harmonious social life that all needs are spontaneously and pleasurably fulfilled by each ,vithout injury to others.