The Moral Economy

The Moral Economy, by Ralph
Barton Perry

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Perry
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Title: The Moral Economy
Author: Ralph Barton Perry

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Language: English
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THE MORAL ECONOMY
by
RALPH BARTON PERRY
Assistant Professor of Philosophy in Harvard University
Author of
The Free Man and the Soldier The Moral Economy The Approach to
Philosophy

Charles Scribner's Sons New York -- Chicago -- Boston -- Atlanta San
Francisco -- Dallas
Copyright, 1909, by Charles Scribner's Sons All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the
permission of Charles Scribner's Sons

DEDICATED TO N.
MARCH 30, 1909

"Things and actions are what they are, and the consequences of them
will be what they will be; why then should we desire to be deceived?"
BISHOP BUTLER.

{vii}
PREFACE
This little book is the preliminary sketch of a system of ethics. Its form
differs from that of most contemporary books on the subject because of
the omission of the traditional controversies. I have attempted to study
morality directly, to derive its conceptions and laws from an analysis of
life. I have made this attempt because, in the first place, I believe that
theoretical ethics is seriously embarrassed by its present emphasis on
the history and criticism of doctrines; by its failure to resort to
experience, where without more ado it may solve its problems on their
merits. But, in the second place, I hope that by appealing to experience
and neglecting scholastic technicalities, I may connect ethical theory
with every-day reflection on practical matters. Morality is, without
doubt, the most human and urgent of all topics of study; and I should
like, if possible, to make it appear so.
The references which I have embodied in the notes are intended to
serve the English reader as an introduction to accessible and
untechnical literature on the subjects treated in the several chapters.
These chapters coincide with the main divisions of ethical inquiry:
Goodness, Duty, Virtue, Progress, Culture, and Religion. And although
so brief a treatment of so large a programme is impossible without
sacrifice of thoroughness, it does provide both a general survey of the
field, and a varied application of certain fundamental ideas.
RALPH BARTON PERRY. CAMBRIDGE, 1909.

{ix}
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I

PAGE MORALITY AS THE ORGANIZATION OF
LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I. THE GENERAL CLAIMS OF MORALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The practical necessity of morality, 1. The interplay of dogmatism and
scepticism, 4. The fundamental character of morality, 7.
II. GOODNESS IN GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The dependence of value on life, 9. Definition of the simpler terms of
value. Goodness: the fulfilment of interest, 11. "Good" and "good for,"
12.
III. MORAL GOODNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The moral organization of life, 13. Definition of the terms of moral
value. Moral goodness: the fulfilment of an economy of interests, 15.
Moral goodness and pleasure, 16. Rightness or virtue, 18. Morality and
life, 19.
IV. MORALITY AND NATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The alleged artificiality of morality, 20. Morality and the struggle for
existence, 21. Morality and adaptation, 22. Morality is natural if life is,
24.
V. MORALITY AND CONFLICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Morality and competitive struggle. Morality the condition of strength,
24. The value of conflict, 23. The elimination of conflict, 26. Morality
and the love of life, 27.
VI. THE DIGNITY AND LUSTRE OF MORALITY . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The effect of war on sentiment and the imagination, 28. Real power is
constructive, not destructive or