MORALRULES
Thepracticalneedofmoralsarisesfromtheconflictofdesires,whetherofdifferentpeopleorofthesamepersonatdifferenttimesorevenatonetime．Amandesirestodrink,andalsotobefitforhisworknextmorning．Wethinkhimimmoralifheadoptsthecoursewhichgiveshimthesmallertotalsatisfactionofdesire．Wethinkillofpeoplewhoareextravagantorreckless,eveniftheyinjurenoonebutthemselves．Benthamsupposedthatthewholeofmoralitycouldbederivedfrom‘enlightenedself-interest’,andthatapersonwhoalwaysactedwithaviewtohisownmaximumsatisfactioninthelongrunwouldalwaysactrightly．Icannotacceptthisview．Tyrantshaveexistedwhoderivedexquisitepleasurefromwatchingtheinflictionoftorture;Icannotpraisesuchmenwhenprudenceledthemtosparetheirvictims"liveswithaviewtofurthersufferingsanotherday．Nevertheless,otherthingsbeingequal,prudenceisapartofthegoodlife．EvenRobinsonCrusoehadoccasiontopractiseindustry,self-controlandforesightwhichmustbereckonedasmoralqualities,sincetheyincreasedhistotalsatisfactionwithoutcounterbalancinginjurytoothers．Thispartofmoralsplaysagreatpartinthetrainingofyoungchildren,whohavelittleinclinationtothinkofthefuture．Ifitweremorepractisedinlaterlife,theworldwouldquicklybecomeaparadise,sinceitwouldbequitesufficienttopreventwars,whichareactsofpassion,notreason．Nevertheless,inspiteoftheimportanceofprudence,itisnotthemostinterestingpartofmorals．Norisitthepartthatraisesintellectualproblems,sinceitdoesnotrequireanappealtoanythingbeyondself-interest.
Thepartofmoralitythatisnotincludedinprudence,is,inessence,analogoustolaw,ortherulesofaclub．Itisamethodofenablingmentolivetogetherinacommunityinspiteofthepossibilitythattheirdesiresmayconflict．Butheretwoverydifferentmethodsarepossible．Thereisthemethodofcriminallaw,whichaimsatamerelyexternalharmonybyattachingdisagreeableconsequencestoactswhichthwartothermen"sdesiresincertainways．Thisisalsothemethodofsocialcensure:tobethoughtillofbyone"sownsocietyisaformofpunishment,toavoidwhichmostpeopleavoidbeingknowntotransgressthecodeoftheirset．Butthereisanothermethod,morefundamental,andfarmoresatisfactorywhenitsucceeds．Thisistoaltermen"scharactersanddesiresinsuchawayastominimiseoccasionsofconflictbymakingthesuccessofoneman"sdesiresasfaraspossibleconsistentwiththatofanother"s．Thatiswhyloveisbetterthanhate,becauseitbringsharmonyinsteadofconflictintothedesiresofthepersonconcerned．Twopeoplebetweenwhomthereislovesucceedorfailtogether,butwhentwopeoplehateeachotherthesuccessofeitheristhefailureoftheother.
Ifwewererightinsayingthatthegoodlifeisinspiredbyloveandguidedbyknowledge,itisclearthatthemoralcodeofanycommunityisnotultimateandself-sufficient,butmustbeexaminedwithaviewtoseeingwhetheritissuchaswisdomandbenevolencewouldhavedecreed．Moralcodeshavenotalwaysbeenfaultless．TheAztecsconsideredittheirpainfuldutytoeathumanfleshforfearthelightofthesunshouldgrowdim．Theyerredintheirscience;andperhapstheywouldhaveperceivedthescientificerroriftheyhadhadanyloveforthesacrificialvictims．Sometribesimmuregirlsinthedarkfromtheageof10totheageof17,forfearthesun"sraysshouldrenderthempregnant．Butsurelyourmoderncodesofmoralscontainnothinganalogoustothesesavagepractices?Surelyweonlyforbidthingswhicharereallyharmful,oratanyratesoabominablethatnodecentpersoncoulddefendthem?Iamnotsosure.
Currentmoralityisacuriousblendofutilitarianismandsuperstition,butthesuperstitiousparthasthestrongerhold,asisnatural,sincesuperstitionistheoriginofmoralrules．Originally,certainactswerethoughtdispleasingtothegods,andwereforbiddenbylawbecausethedivinewrathwasapttodescenduponthecommunity,notmerelyupontheguiltyindividuals．Hencearosetheconceptionofsin,asthatwhichisdispleasingtoGod．Noreasoncanbeassignedastowhycertainactsshouldbethusdispleasing;itwouldbeverydifficulttosay,forinstance,whyitwasdispleasingthatthekidshouldbeseethedinitsmother"smilk．ButitwasknownbyRevelationthatthiswasthecase．SometimestheDivinecommandshavebeencuriouslyinterpreted．Forexample,wearetoldnottoworkonSaturdays,andProtestantstakethistomeanthatwearenottoplayonSundays．Butthesamesublimeauthorityisattributedtothenewprohibitionastotheold.
ItisevidentthatamanwithascientificoutlookonlifecannotlethimselfbeintimidatedbytextsofScriptureorbytheteachingoftheChurch．Hewillnotbecontenttosay‘such-and-suchanactissinful,andthatendsthematter’．Hewillinquirewhetheritdoesanyharmorwhether,onthecontrary,thebeliefthatitissinfuldoesharm．Andhewillfindthat,especiallyinwhatconcernssex,ourcurrentmoralitycontainsaverygreatdealofwhichtheoriginispurelysuperstitious．Hewillfindalsothatthissupersti-tion,likethatoftheAztecs,involvesneedlesscruelty,andwouldbesweptawayifpeoplewereactuatedbykindlyfeelingstowardstheirneighbours．Butthedefendersoftraditionalmoralityareseldompeoplewithwarmhearts,asmaybeseenfromtheloveofmilitarismdisplayedbyChurchdignitaries．Oneistemptedtothinkthattheyvaluemoralsasaffordingalegitimateoutletfortheirdesiretoinflictpain;thesinnerisfairgame,andthereforeawaywithtolerance!
Letusfollowanordinaryhumanlifefromconceptiontothegrave,andnotethepointswheresuperstitiousmoralsinflictpreventablesuffering．Ibeginwithconcep-tion,becauseheretheinfluenceofsuperstitionisparticu-larlynoteworthy．Iftheparentsarenotmarried,thechildhasastigma,asclearlyundeservedasanythingcouldbe．Ifeitheroftheparentshasvenerealdisease,thechildislikelytoinheritit．Iftheyalreadyhavetoomanychildrenforthefamilyincome,therewillbepoverty,under-feeding,overcrowding,verylikelyincest．Yetthegreatmajorityofmoralistsagreethattheparentshadbetternotknowhowtopreventhismiserybypreventingconcep-tion.’(1)Topleasethesemoralists,alifeoftortureisinflicteduponmillionsofhumanbeingswhooughtnevertohaveexisted,merelybecauseitissupposedthatsexualintercourseiswickedunlessaccompaniedbydesireforoffspring,butnotwickedwhenthisdesireispresent,eventhoughtheoffspringishumanlycertaintobewretched．Tobekilledsuddenlyandtheneaten,whichwasthefateoftheAztecs"victims,isafarlessdegreeofsufferingthanisinflicteduponachildborninmiserablesurroundingsandtaintedwithvenerealdisease．Yetitisthegreatersufferingwhichisdeliberatelyinflictedbybishopsandpoliticiansinthenameofmorality．Iftheyhadeventhesmallestsparkofloveorpityforchildrentheycouldnotadheretoamoralcodeinvolvingthisfiendishcruelty.
Atbirth,andinearlyinfancy,theaveragechildsuffersmorefromeconomiccausesthanfromsuperstition．Whenwell-to-dowomenhavechildren,theyhavethebestdoctors,thebestnurses,thebestdiet,thebestrestandthebestexercise．Working-classwomendonotenjoytheseadvantages,andfrequentlytheirchildrendieforlackofthem．Alittleisdonebythepublicauthoritiesinthewayofcareofmothers,butverygrudgingly．Atamomentwhenthesupplyofmilktonursingmothersisbeingcutdowntosaveexpense,publicauthoritieswillspendvastsumsonpavingrichresidentialdistrictswherethereislittletraffic．Theymustknowthatintakingthisdecisiontheyarecondemningacertainnumberofworking-classchildrentodeathforthecrimeofpoverty．Yettherulingpartyaresupportedbytheimmensemajorityofministersofreligion,who,withthePopeattheirhead,havepledgedthevastforcesofsuperstitionthroughouttheworldtothesupportofsocialinjustice.
Inallstagesofeducationtheinfluenceofsuperstitionisdisastrous．Acertainpercentageofchildrenhavethehabitofthinking;oneoftheaimsofeducationistocurethemofthishabit．Inconvenientquestionsaremetwith‘hush,hush’,orwithpunishment．Collectiveemotionisusedtoinstilcertainkindsofbelief,moreparticularlynationalistickinds．Capitalists,militarists,andecclesia-sticsco-operateineducation,becausealldependfortheirpowerupontheprevalenceofemotionalismandtherarityofcriticaljudgement．Withtheaidofhumannature,educationsucceedsinincreasingandintensifyingthesepropensitiesoftheaverageman.
Anotherwayinwhichsuperstitiondamageseducationisthroughitsinfluenceonthechoiceofteachers．Foreconomicreasons,awomanteachermustnotbemarried;formoralreasons,shemustnothaveextra-maritalsexualrelations．Andyeteverybodywhohastakenthetroubletostudymorbidpsychologyknowsthatprolongedvirginityis,asarule,extraordinarilyharmfultowomen,soharmfulthat,inasanesociety,itwouldbeseverelydiscouragedinteachers．Therestrictionsimposedleadmoreandmoretoarefusal,onthepartofenergeticandenterprisingwomen,toentertheteachingprofession．Thisisallduetothelingeringinfluenceofsuperstitiousasceticism.
Atmiddleandupperclassschoolsthematterisevenworse．Therearechapelservices,andthecareofmoralsisinthehandsofclergymen．Clergymen,almostnecessarily,failintwowaysasteachersofmorals．Theycondemnactswhichdonotharmandtheycondoneactswhichdogreatharm．Theyallcondemnsexualrelationsbetweenunma-rriedpeoplewhoarefondofeachotherbutnotyetsurethattheywishtolivetogetheralltheirlives．Mostofthemcondemnbirthcontrol．Noneofthemcondemnsthebrutalityofahusbandwhocauseshiswifetodieoftoofrequentpregnancies．Iknewafashionableclergymanwhosewifehadninechildreninnineyears．Thedoctorstoldhimthatifshehadanothershewoulddie．Nextyearshehadanotheranddied．Noonecondemned;heretainedhisbeneficeandmarriedagain．Solongasclergymencontinuetocondonecrueltyandcondemninnocentpleasure,theycanonlydoharmasguardiansofthemoralsoftheyoung.
Anotherbadeffectofsuperstitiononeducationistheabsenceofinstructionaboutthefactsofsex．Themainphysiologicalfactsoughttobetaughtquitesimplyandnaturallybeforepubertyatatimewhentheyarenotexciting．Atpuberty,theelementsofanunsupers-titioussexualmoralityoughttobetaught．Boysandgirlsshouldbetaughtthatnothingcanjustifysexualintercourseunlessthereismutualinclination．ThisiscontrarytotheteachingoftheChurch,whichholdsthat,providedthepartiesaremarriedandthemandesiresanotherchild,sexualintercourseisjustifiedhowevergreatmaybethereluctanceofthewife．Boysandgirlsshouldbetaughtrespectforeachother"sliberty;theyshouldbemadetofeelthatnothinggivesonehumanbeingrightsoveranother,andthatjealousyandpossessivenesskilllove．Theyshouldbetaughtthattobringanotherhumanbeingintotheworldisaveryseriousmatter,onlytobeundertakenwhenthechildwillhaveareasonableprospectofhealth,goodsurroundings,andparentalcare．Buttheyshouldalsobetaughtmethodsofbirthcontrol,soastoinsurethatchildrenshallonlycomewhentheyarewanted．Finally,theyshouldbetaughtthedangersofvenerealdisease,andthemethodsofpreventionandcure．Theincreaseofhumanhappinesstobeexpectedfromsexeducationontheselinesisimmeasurable.
Itshouldberecognisedthat,intheabsenceofchildren,sexualrelationsareapurelyprivatematter,whichdoesnotconcerneithertheStateortheneighbours．Certainformsofsexwhichdonotleadtochildrenareatpresentpunishedbythecriminallaw:thisispurelysuperstitious,sincethematterisonewhichaffectsnooneexceptthepartiesdirectlyconcerned．Wheretherearechildren,itisamistaketosupposethatitisnecessarilytotheirinteresttomakedivorceverydifficult．Habitualdrunkenness,cruelty,insanityaregroundsuponwhichdivorceisnecessaryforthechildren"ssakequiteasmuchasforthesakeofthewifeorhusband．Thepeculiarimpor-tanceattached,atpresent,toadulteryisquiteirrational．Itisobviousthatmanyformsofmisconductaremorefataltomarriedhappinessthananoccasionalinfidelity．Masculineinsistenceonachildayear,whichisnotconventionallymisconductorcruelty,isthemostfatalofall.
Moralrulesoughtnottobesuchastomakeinstinctivehappinessimpossible．Yetthatisaneffectofstrictmonogamyinacommunitywherethenumbersofthetwosexesareveryunequal．Ofcourse,undersuchcircumstances,themoralrulesareinfringed．Butwhentherulesaresuchthattheycanonlybeobeyedbygreatlydiminishingthehappinessofthecomm-unity,andwhenitisbettertheyshouldbeinfringedthanobserved,surelyitistimethattheruleswerechanged．Ifthisisnotdone,manypeoplewhoareactinginawaynotcontrarytothepublicinterestarefacedwiththeundese-rvedalternativeofhypocrisyorobloquy．TheChurchdoesnotmindhypocrisy,whichisaflatteringtributetoitspower;butelsewhereithascometoberecognisedasanevilwhichweoughtnotlightlytoinflict.
Evenmoreharmfulthantheologicalsuperstitionisthesuperstitionofnationalism,ofdutytoone"sownStateandtonoother．ButIdonotproposeonthisoccasiontodiscussthematterbeyondpointingoutthatlimitationtoone"scompatriotsiscontrarytotheprincipleoflovewhichwerecognisedasconstitutingthegoodlife．Itisalso,ofcourse,contrarytoenlightenedself-interest,sinceanexclusivenationalismdoesnotpayeventhevictoriousnations.
Oneotherrespectinwhichoursocietysuffersfromthetheologicalconceptionof‘sin’isthetreatmentofcriminals．Theviewthatcriminalsare‘wicked’and‘deserve’punishmentisnotonewhicharationalmoralitycansupport．Undoubtedlycertainpeopledothingswhichsocietywishestoprevent,anddoesrightinpreventingasfaraspossible．Wemaytakemurderastheplainestcase．Obviously,ifacommunityistoholdtogetherandwearetoenjoyitspleasuresandadvantages,wecannotallowpeopletokilleachotherwhenevertheyfeelanimpulsetodoso．Butthisproblemshouldbetreatedinapurelyscientificspirit．Weshouldasksimply:Whatisthebestmethodofpreventingmurder?Oftwomethodswhichareequallyeffectiveinpreventingmurder,theoneinvolvingleastharmtothemurdereristobepreferred．Theharmtothemurdereriswhollyregrettable,likethepainofasurgicaloperation．Itmaybeequallynecessary,butitisnotasubjectforrejoicing．Thevindictivefeelingcalled‘moralindignation’ismerelyaformofcruelty．Sufferingtothecriminalcanneverbejustifiedbythenotionofvindictivepunishment．Ifeducationcombinedwithkindnessisequallyeffective,itistobepreferred;stillmoreisittobepreferredifitismoreeffective．Ofcourse,thepreventionofcrimeandthepunishmentofcrimearetwodifferentquestions;theobjectofcausingpaintothecriminalispresumablydeterrent．Ifprisonsweresohumanisedthataprisonergotagoodeducationfornothing,peoplemightcommitcrimesinordertoqualifyforentrance．Nodoubtprisonmustbelesspleasantthanfreedom;butthebestwaytosecurethisresultistomakefreedommorepleasantthanitsometimesisatpresent．Idonotwish,however,toembarkuponthesubjectofPenalReform．Imerelywishtosuggestthatweshouldtreatthecriminalaswetreatamansufferingfromplague．Eachisapublicdanger,eachmusthavehislibertycurtaileduntilhehasceasedtobeadanger．Butthemansufferingfromplagueisanobjectofsympathyandcommiseration,whereasthecriminalisanobjectofexecration．Thisisquiteirrational．Anditisbecauseofthisdifferenceofattitudethatourprisonsaresomuchlesssuccessfulincuringcriminaltendenciesthanourhospitalsareincuringdisease.
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(1) Thisisfortunatelynolongertrue．ThevastmajorityofProtestantandJewishleadersdonotnowobjecttobirthcontrol．Russell"sstatementisaperfectlyaccuratedescriptionofconditionsin1925．Itisalsosignificantthat,withoneortwoexcep-tions,allthegreatpioneersofcontraception—FrancisPlace,RichardCarlile,CharlesKnowlton,CharlesBradlaughandMargaretSanger—wereprominentFree-thinkers．（Editor"snote．）
