バートランド・ラッセル『ヒューマン・ソサエティ-倫理学から政治学へ』- Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954
* 原著:Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954* 邦訳書:バートランド・ラッセル(著),勝部真長・長谷川鑛平(共訳)『ヒューマン・ソサエティ-倫理学から政治学へ』(玉川大学出版部,1981年7月刊。268+x pp.)
序論 n.4 |
Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, introduction, n.4 | |||
* 原注:この問題をより詳しく論じたものとして、『社会再建の原理』(Principles of Social Reconstruction (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.) 第一章参照。 |
The need of ethics in human affairs arises not only from man's incomplete gregariousness or from his failure to live up to an inner vision; it arises also from another difference between man and other animals. The actions of human beings do not all spring from direct impulse, but are capable of being controlled and directed by conscious purpose. To some slight extent higher animals possess this faculty. A dog will allow his master to hurt him in pulling a thorn out of his foot. Kohler's apes did various uninstinctive things in the endeavour to reach bananas. Nevertheless, it remains true even with the higher animals that most of their acts are inspired by direct impulse. This is not true of civilized man. From the moment when he gets out of bed in spite of a passionate desire to remain lying down, to the moment when he finds himself alone in the evening, he has few opportunities of acting on impulse except by finding fault with underlings and choosing the least disagreeable of the foods offered for his mid-day meal. In all other respects he is guided, not by impulse, but by deliberate purpose. What he does, he does, not because the act is pleasant, but because he hopes that it will bring him money or some other reward. It is because of this power of acting with a view to a desired end that ethics and moral rules are effective, since they suggest, on the one hand, a distinction between good and bad purposes, and, on the Other hand, a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate means of achieving purposes. But it is easy in dealing with civilized man to lay too much stress on conscious purpose and too little on the importance of spontaneous impulse.* The moralist is tempted to ignore the claims of human nature, and, if he does so, it is likely that human nature will ignore the claims of the moralist. * For a fuller treatment of this matter, see Chapter I of Principles of Social Reconstruction (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.). |