SCIENCEANDHAPPINESS
Thepurposeofthemoralististoimprovemen"sbehaviour．Thisisalaudableambition,sincetheirbehaviourisforthemostpartdeplorable．ButIcannotpraisethemoralisteitherfortheparticularimprovementshedesiresorforthemethodsheadoptsforachievingthem．Hisostensiblemethodismoralexhortation;hisrealmethod（ifheisorthodox）isasystemofeconomicrewardsandpunish-ments．Theformereffectsnothingpermanentorimpor-tant;theinfluenceofrevivalists,fromSavonaroladown-wards,hasalwaysbeenverytransitory．Thelatter—therewardsandpunishments—haveaveryconsiderableeffect．Theycauseaman,forexample,toprefercasualprostitutestoaquasi-permanentmistress,becauseitisnecessarytoadoptthemethodwhichismosteasilyconcea-led．Theythuskeepupthenumbersofaverydangerousprofession,andsecuretheprevalenceofvenerealdisease．Thesearenottheobjectsdesiredbythemoralist,andheistoounscientifictonoticethattheyaretheobjectswhichheactuallyachieves.
Isthereanythingbettertobesubstitutedforthisunscientificmixtureofpreachingandbribery?Ithinkthereis.
Men"sactionsareharmfuleitherfromignoranceorfrombaddesires．‘Bad’desires,whenwearespeakingfromasocialpointofview,maybedefinedasthosewhichtendtothwartthedesiresofothers,ormoreexactly,thosewhichthwartmoredesiresthantheyassist．Itisnotnecessarytodwellupontheharmfulnessthatspringsfromignorance;here,moreknowledgeisallthatiswanted,sothattheroadtoimprovementliesinmoreresearchandmoreeducation．Buttheharmfulnessthatspringsfrombaddesiresisamoredifficultmatter.
Intheordinarymanandwomanthereisacertainamountofactivemalevolence,bothspecialill-willdirectedtoparticularenemiesandgeneralimpersonalpleasureinthemisfortunesofothers．Itiscustomarytocoverthisoverwithfinephrases;abouthalfofconventionalmoralityisacloakforit．Butitmustbefacedifthemoralists"aimofimprovingouractionsistobeachieved．Itisshowninathousandways,greatandsmall:inthegleewithwhichpeoplerepeatandbelievescandal,intheunkindtreatmentofcriminalsinspiteofclearproofthatbettertreatmentwouldhavemoreeffectinreformingthem,intheunbelievablebarbaritywithwhichallwhiteracestreatNegroes,andinthegustowithwhicholdladiesandclergymenpointedoutthedutyofmilitaryservicetoyoungmenduringtheWar．Evenchildrenmaybetheobjectsofwantoncruelty:DavidCopperfieldandOliverTwistarebynomeansimaginary．Thisactivemalevolenceistheworstfeatureofhumannatureandtheonewhichitismostnecessarytochangeiftheworldistogrowhappier．Probablythisonecausehasmoretodowithwarthanalltheeconomicandpoliticalcausesputtogether.
Giventhisproblemofpreventingmalevolence,howshallwedealwithit?Firstletustrytounderstanditscauses．Theseare,Ithink,pardysocial,partlyphysiolo-gical．Theworld,nowasmuchasatanyformertime,isbaseduponlife-and-deathcompetition;thequestionatissueintheWarwaswhetherGermanorAlliedchildrenshoulddieofwantandstarvation．（Apartfrommalevo-lenceonbothsidestherewasnottheslightestreasonwhybothshouldnotsurvive.）Mostpeoplehaveinthebackgroundoftheirmindsahauntingfearofruin;thisisespeciallytrueofpeoplewhohavechildren．TherichfearthatBolshevikswillconfiscatetheirinvestments;thepoorfearthattheywilllosetheirjobortheirhealth．Everyoneisengagedinthefranticpursuitof‘security’andimaginesthatthisistobeachievedbykeepingpotentialenemiesinsubjection．Itisinmomentsofpanicthatcrueltybecomesmostwidespreadandmostatrocious．Reactionariesevery-whereappealtofear:inEngland,tofearofBolshevism;inFrance,tofearofGermany;inGermany,tofearofFrance．Andthesoleeffectoftheirappealsistoincreasethedangeragainstwhichtheywishtobeprotected.
Itmust,therefore,beoneofthechiefconcernsofthescientificmoralisttocombatfear．Thiscanbedoneintwoways:byincreasingsecurity,andbycultivatingcourage．Iamspeakingoffearasanirrationalpassion,notoftherationalprevisionofpossiblemisfortune．Whenatheatrecatchesfire,therationalmanforeseesdisasterjustasclearlyasthemanstrickenwithpanic,butheadoptsmethodslikelytodiminishthedisaster,whereasthemanstrickenwithpanicincreasesit．Europesince1914hasbeenlikeapanic-strickenaudienceinatheatreonfire;whatisneedediscalm,authoritativedirectionsastohowtoescapewithouttramplingeachothertopiecesintheprocess．TheVictorianAge,forallitshumbug,wasaperiodofrapidprogress,becausemenweredominatedbyhoperatherthanfear．Ifweareagaintohaveprogress,wemustagainbedominatedbyhope.
Everythingthatincreasesthegeneralsecurityislikelytodiminishcruelty．Thisappliestopreventionofwar,whetherthroughtheinstrumentalityoftheLeagueofNationsorotherwise;topreventionofdestitution;tobetterhealthbyimprovementinmedicine,hygiene,andsanitation;andtoallothermethodsoflesseningtheterrorsthatlurkintheabyssesofmen"smindsandemergeasnightmareswhentheysleep．Butnothingisaccomplishedbyanattempttomakeaportionofmankindsecureattheexpenseofanotherportion—FrenchmenattheexpenseofGermans,capitalistsattheexpenseofwage-earners,whitemenattheexpenseofyellowmen,andsoon．Suchmethodsonlyincreaseterrorinthedominantgroup,lestjustresentmentshouldleadtheoppressedtorebel．Onlyjusticecangivesecurity;andby‘justice’Imeantherecognitionoftheequalclaimsofallhumanbeings.
Inadditiontosocialchangesdesignedtobringsecuritythereis,however,anotherandmoredirectmeansofdiminishingfear,namelybyaregimendesignedtoincreasecourage．Owingtotheimportanceofcourageinbattle,menearlydiscoveredmeansofincreasingitbyeducationanddiet—eatinghumanflesh,forexample,wassupposedtobeuseful．Butmilitarycouragewastobetheprerogativeoftherulingcaste:Spartansweretohavemorethanhelots,BritishofficersthanIndianprivates,menthanwomen,andsoon．Forcenturiesitwassupposedtobetheprivilegeofthearistocracy．Everyincreaseofcourageintherulingcastewasusedtoincreasetheburdensontheoppressed,andthereforetoincreasethegroundsforfearintheoppressors,andthereforetoleavethecausesofcrueltyundiminished．Couragemustbedemocratisedbeforeitcanmakemenhumane.
Toagreatextent,couragehasalreadybeendemocra-tisedbyrecentevents．Thesuffragettesshowedthattheypossessedasmuchcourageasthebravestmen;thisdemonstrationwasessentialinwinningthemthevote．ThecommonsoldierintheWarneededasmuchcourageasacaptainorlieutenant,andmuchmorethanageneral;thishadmuchtodowithhislackofservilityafterdemobilisation．TheBolsheviks,whoproclaimthemselvesthechampionsoftheproletariat,arenotlackingincourage,whateverelsemaybesaidofthem;thisisprovedbytheirpre-revolutionaryrecord．InJapan,whereformerlytheSamuraihadamonopolyofmartialardour,conscriptionbroughttheneedofcouragethroughoutthemalepopulation．ThusamongalltheGreatPowersmuchhasbeendoneduringthepasthalf-centurytomakecouragenolongeranaristocraticmonopoly:ifthiswerenotthecase,thedangertodemocracywouldbefargreaterthanitis.
Butcourageinfightingisbynomeanstheonlyform,norperhapseventhemostimportant．Thereiscourageinfacingpoverty,courageinfacingderision,courageinfacingthehostilityofone"sownherd．Inthese,thebravestsoldiersareoftenlamentablydeficient．Andaboveallthereisthecouragetothinkcalmlyandrationallyinthefaceofdanger,andtocontroltheimpulseofpanicfearorpanicrage．Thesearecertainlythingswhicheducationcanhelptogive．Andtheteachingofeveryformofcourageisrenderedeasierbygoodhealth,goodphysique,adequatenourishment,andfreeplayforfundamentalvitalimpulses．Perhapsthephysiologicalsourcesofcouragecouldbediscoveredbycomparingthebloodofacatwiththatofarabbit．Inalllikelihoodthereisnolimittowhatsciencecoulddointhewayofincreasingcourage,byexample,experienceofdanger,anathleticlife,andasuitablediet．Allthesethingsourupperclassboystoagreatextentenjoy,butasyettheyareinthemaintheprerogativeofwealth．Thecouragesofarencouragedinthepoorersectionsofthecommunityiscourageunderorders,notthekindthatinvolvesinitiativeandleadership．Whenthequalitiesthatnowconferleadershiphavebecomeuniversal,therewillnolongerbeleadersandfollowers,anddemocracywillhavebeenrealisedatlast.
Butfearisnottheonlysourceofmalevolence;envyanddisappointmentalsohavetheirshare．Theenvyofcripplesandhunchbacksisproverbialasasourceofmalignity,butothermisfortunesthantheirsproducesimilarresults．Amanorwomanwhohasbeenthwartedsexuallyisapttobefullofenvy;thisgenerallytakestheformofmoralcondemnationofthemorefortunate．Muchofthedrivingforceofrevolutionarymovementsisduetoenvyoftherich．Jealousyis,ofcourse,aspecialformofenvy—envyoflove．Theoldoftenenvytheyoung;whentheydo,theyareapttotreatthemcruelly.
Thereis,sofarasIknow,nowayofdealingwithenvyexcepttomakethelivesoftheenvioushappierandfuller,andtoencourageinyouththeideaofcollectiveenterprisesratherthancompetition．Theworstformsofenvyareinthosewhohavenothadafulllifeinthewayofmarriage,orchildren,orcareer．Suchmisfortunescouldinmostcasesbeavoidedbybettersocialinstitutions．Still,itmustbeadmittedthataresiduumofenvyislikelytoremain．Therearemanyinstancesinhistoryofgeneralssojealousofeachotherthattheypreferreddefeattoenhance-mentoftheother"sreputation．Twopoliticiansofthesameparty,ortwoartistsofthesameschool,arealmostsuretobejealousofoneanother．Insuchcases,thereseemsnothingtobedoneexcepttoarrange,asfaraspossible,thateachcompetitorshallbeunabletoinjuretheother,andshallonlybeabletowinbysuperiormerit．Anartist"sjealousyofarivaldoeslittleharmusually,becausetheonlyeffectivewayofindulgingitistopaintbetterpicturesthanhisrival"s,sinceitisnotopentohimtodestroyhisrival"spictures．Whereenvyisunavoidableitmustbeusedasastimulustoone"sownefforts,nottothethwartingoftheeffortsofrivals.
Thepossibilitiesofscienceinthewayofincreasinghumanhappinessarenotconfinedtodiminishingthoseaspectsofhumannaturewhichmakeformutualdefeat,andwhichwethereforecall‘bad’．Thereisprobablynolimittowhatsciencecandointhewayofincreasingpositiveexcellence．Healthhasalreadybeengreatlyimproved;inspiteofthelamentationsofthosewhoidealisethepast,welivelongerandhavefewerillnessesthananyclassornationintheeighteenthcentury．Withalittlemoreapplicationoftheknowledgewealreadypossess,wemightbemuchhealthierthanweare．Andfuturediscoveriesarelikelytoacceleratethisprocessenormously.
Sofar,ithasbeenphysicalsciencethathashadmosteffectuponourlives,butinthefuturephysiologyandpsychologyarelikelytobefarmorepotent．Whenwehavediscoveredhowcharacterdependsuponphysiologicalconditions,weshallbeable,ifwechoose,toproducefarmoreofthetypeofhumanbeingthatweadmire．Intelli-gence,artisticcapacity,benevolence—allthesethingsnodoubtcouldbeincreasedbyscience．Thereseemsscarcelyanylimittowhatcouldbedoneinthewayofproducingagoodworld,ifonlymenwouldusesciencewisely．Ihaveexpressedelsewheremyfearsthatmenmaynotmakeawiseuseofthepowertheyderivefromscience.(1)AtpresentIamconcernedwiththegoodthatmencoulddoiftheychose,notwiththequestionwhethertheywillchooserathertodoharm.
ThereisacertainattitudeabouttheapplicationofsciencetohumanlifewithwhichIhavesomesympathy,thoughIdonot,inthelastanalysis,agreewithit．Itistheattitudeofthosewhodreadwhatis‘unnatural’．Rousseauis,ofcourse,thegreatprotagonistofthisviewinEurope．InAsia,Lao-Tzehassetitforthevenmorepersuasively,and2400yearssooner．Ithinkthereisamixtureoftruthandfalsehoodintheadmirationof‘nature’,whichitisimportanttodisentangle．Tobeginwith,whatis‘natural’?Roughlyspeaking,anythingtowhichthespeakerwasaccustomedinchildhood．Lao-Tzeobjectstoroadsandcarriagesandboats,allofwhichwereprobablyunknowninthevillagewherehewasborn．Rousseauhasgotusedtothesethings,anddoesnotregardthemasagainstnature．Buthewouldnodoubthavethunderedagainstrailwaysifhehadlivedtoseethem．Clothesandcookingaretooancienttobedenouncedbymostoftheapostlesofnature,thoughtheyallobjecttonewfashionsineither．Birthcontrolisthoughtwickedbypeoplewhotoleratecelibacy,becausetheformerisanewviolationofnatureandthelatteranancientone．Inallthesewaysthosewhopreachnature"areinconsistent,andoneistemptedtoregardthemasmereconservatives.
Nevertheless,thereissomethingtobesaidintheirfavour．Takeforinstancevitamins,thediscoveryofwhichhasproducedarevulsioninfavourof‘natural’foods．Itseems,however,thatvitaminscanbesuppliedbycodliveroilandelectriclight,whicharecertainlynotpartofthe‘natural’dietofahumanbeing．Thiscaseillustratesthat,intheabsenceofknowledge,unexpectedharmmaybedonebyanewdeparturefromnature;butwhentheharmhascometobeunderstooditcanusuallyberemediedbysomenewartificiality．Asregardsourphysicalenvironmentandourphysicalmeansofgratifyingourdesires,Idonotthinkthedoctrineof‘nature’justifiesanythingbeyondacertainexperimentalcautionintheadoptionofnewexpedients．Clothes,forinstance,arecontrarytonature,andneedtobesupple-mentedbyanotherunnaturalpractice,namelywashing,iftheyarenottobringdisease．Butthetwopracticestoge-thermakeamanhealthierthanthesavagewhoeschewsboth.
Thereismoretobesaidfor‘nature’intherealmofhumandesires．Toforceuponman,womanorchildalifewhichthwartstheirstrongestimpulsesisbothcruelanddangerous;inthissense,alifeaccordingto‘nature’istobecommendedwithcertainprovisos．Nothingcouldbemoreartificialthananundergroundelectricrailway,butnoviolenceisdonetoachild"snaturewhenitistakentotravelinone;onthecontrary,almostallchildrenfindtheexperiencedelightful．Artificialitieswhichgratifythedesiresofordinaryhumanbeingsaregood,otherthingsbeingequal．Butthereisnothingtobesaidforwaysoflifewhichareartificialinthesenseofbeingimposedbyauthorityoreconomicnecessity．Suchwaysoflifeare,nodoubt,tosomeextentnecessaryatpresent;oceantravelwouldbecomeverydifficultiftherewerenostokersonsteamers．Butnecessitiesofthiskindareregrettable,andweoughttolookforwaysofavoidingthem．Acertainamountofworkisnotathingtocomplainof;indeed,inninecasesoutoften,itmakesamanhappierthancompleteidleness．Buttheamountandkindofworkthatmostpeoplehavetodoatpresentisagraveevil:especiallybadisthelife-longbondagetoroutine．Lifeshouldnotbetoocloselyregulatedortoomethodical;ourimpulses,whennotpositivelydestructiveorinjurioustoothers,oughtifpossibletohavefreeplay;thereshouldberoomforadventure．Humannatureweshouldrespect,becauseourimpulsesanddesiresarethestuffoutofwhichourhappinessistobemade．Itisnousetogivemensomethingabstractedlyconsidered‘good’;wemustgivethemsomethingdesiredorneededifwearetoaddtotheirhappiness．Sciencemaylearnintimetomouldourdesiressothattheyshallnotconflictwiththoseofotherpeopletothesameextentastheydonow;thenweshallbeabletosatisfyalargerproportionofourdesiresthanatpresent．Inthatsense,butinthatsenseonly,ourdesireswillthenhavebecome‘better’．Asingledesireisnobetterandnoworse,consideredinisolation,thananyother;butagroupofdesiresisbetterthananothergroupifallofthefirstgroupcanbesatisfiedsimultaneously,whileinthesecondgroupsomeareinconsistentwithothers．Thatiswhyloveisbetterthanhatred.
Torespectphysicalnatureisfoolish;physicalnatureshouldbestudiedwithaviewtomakingitservehumanendsasfaraspossible,butitremainsethicallyneithergoodnorbad．Andwherephysicalnatureandhumannatureinteract,asinthepopulationquestion,thereisnoneedtofoldourhandsinpassiveadorationandacceptwar,pestilenceandfamineastheonlypossiblemeansofdealingwithexcessivefertility．Thedivinessay:itiswicked,inthismatter,toapplysciencetothephysicalsideoftheproblem;wemust（theysay）applymoralstothehumansideandpractiseabstinence．Apartfromthefactthateveryone,includingthedivines,knowsthattheiradvicewillnotbetaken,whyshoulditbewickedtosolvethepopulationquestionbyadoptingphysicalmeansforpreventingconception?Noanswerisforthcomingexceptonebaseduponantiquateddogmas．Andclearlytheviolencetonatureadvocatedbythedivinesisatleastasgreatasthatinvolvedinbirthcontrol．Thedivinespreferaviolencetohumannature,which,whensuccessfullypractised,involvesunhappiness,envy,atendencytopersecution,oftenmadness．Iprefera‘violence’tophysicalnaturewhichisofthesamesortasthatinvolvedinthesteamengineorevenintheuseofanumbrella．Thisinstanceshowshowambiguousanduncer-tainistheapplicationoftheprinciplethatweshouldfollow‘nature’.
Nature,evenhumannature,willceasemoreandmoretobeanabsolutedatum;moreandmoreitwillbecomewhatscientificmanipulationhasmadeit．Sciencecan,ifitchooses,enableourgrandchildrentolivethegoodlife,bygivingthemknowledge,self-control,andcharactersproductiveofharmonyratherthanstrife．Atpresentitisteachingourchildrentokilleachother,becausemanymenofsciencearewillingtosacrificethefutureofmankindtotheirownmomentaryprosperity．Butthisphasewillpasswhenmenhaveacquiredthesamedominationovertheirownpassionsthattheyalreadyhaveoverthephysicalforcesoftheexternalworld．Thenatlastweshallhavewonourfreedom.
***
(1) SeeIcarus.
