第71章

Butinthusstatingtheproblemweareassumingthatthelattertermofthiscomparisoncanbesatisfactorilydefinedandsufficientlydeveloped；thatwecanframewithadequateprecisionasystemofrules，constitutingthetruemoralcodeforhumanbeingsasdeducedfromUtilitarianprinciples。Andthisseemstohavebeencommonlyassumedbytheschoolwhosemethodwearenowexamining。Butwhenwesetourselvesinearnesttotheconstructionofsuchasystem，wefinditbesetwithseriousdifficulties。For，passingovertheuncertaintiesinvolvedinhedonisticcomparisongenerally，letussupposethatthequantumofhappinessthatwillresultfromtheestablishmentofanyplanofbehaviouramonghumanbeingscanbeascertainedwithsufficientexactnessforpracticalpurposesevenwhentheplanisasyetconstructedinimaginationalone。

Itstillhastobeasked，Whatisthenatureofthehumanbeingforwhomwearetoconstructthishypotheticalschemeofconduct？Forhumanityisnotsomethingthatexhibitsthesamepropertiesalwaysandeverywhere:

whetherweconsidertheintellectofmanorhisfeelings，orhisphysicalconditionandcircumstances，wefindthemsodifferentindifferentagesandcountries，thatitseemsprimafacieabsurdtolaydownasetofidealUtilitarianrulesformankindgenerally。Itmaybesaidthatthesedifferencesafterallrelatechieflytodetails；andthatthereisinanycasesufficientuniformityinthenatureandcircumstancesofhumanlifealwaysandeverywheretorenderpossibleanoutlineschemeofidealbehaviourformankindatlarge，Butitmustbeanswered，thatitiswithdetailsthatwearenowprincipallyconcerned；forthepreviousdiscussionhassufficientlyshownthattheconductapprovedbyCommonSensehasageneralresemblancetothatwhichUtilitarianismwouldprescribe；butwewishtoascertainmoreexactlyhowfartheresemblanceextends，andwithwhatdelicacyandprecisionthecurrentmoralrulesareadaptedtotheactualneedsandconditionsofhumanlife。

Suppose，then，thatwecontractthescopeofinvestigation，andonlyendeavourtoascertaintherulesappropriatetomenasweknowthem，inourownageandcountry。Weareimmediatelymetwithadilemma:

themenwhomweknowarebeingswhoacceptmoreorlessdefinitelyacertainmoralcodeifwetakethemastheyareinthisrespect，wecanhardlyatthesametimeconceivethemasbeingsforwhomacodeisyettobeconstructeddenovo:if，ontheotherhand，wetakeanactualman——letussay，anaverageEnglishman——andabstracthismorality，whatremainsisanentitysopurelyhypothetical，thatitisnotclearwhatpracticalpurposecanbeservedbyconstructingasystemofmoralrulesforthecommunityofsuchbeings。Couldweindeedassumethatthescientificdeductionofsuchasystemwouldensureitsgeneralacceptance；couldwereasonablyexpecttoconvertallmankindatoncetoUtilitarianprinciples，orevenalleducatedandreflectivemankind，。sothatallpreachersandteachersshouldtakeuniversalhappinessasthegoaloftheireffortsasunquestioninglyasphysicianstakethehealthoftheindividualbody；andcouldwebesurethatmen’smoralhabitsandsentimentswouldadjustthemselvesatonceandwithoutanywasteofforcetothesechangedrules，thenperhapsinframingtheUtilitariancodewemightfairlyleaveexistingmoralityoutofaccount。ButIcannotthinkthatwearewarrantedinmakingthesesuppositions；

Ithinkwehavetotakethemoralhabits，impulses，andtastesofmenasamaterialgivenustoworkuponnolessthantherestoftheirnature，andassomethingwhich，asitonlypartlyresultsfromreasoninginthepast，socanonlybepartiallymodifiedbyanyreasoningwhichwecannowapplytoit。ItseemsthereforeclearthatthesolutionofthehypotheticalUtilitarianproblemofconstructinganidealmoralityformenconceivedtobeinotherrespectsasexperienceshowsthemtobe，butwiththeiractualmoralityabstracted，willnotgiveustheresultwhichwepracticallyrequire。

Itwillperhapsbesaid，``NodoubtsuchanidealUtilitarianmoralitycanonlybegradually，andperhapsafterallimperfectly，introduced；butstillitwillbeusefultoworkitoutasapatterntowhichwemayapproximate。’’But，inthefirstplace，itmaynotbereallypossibletoapproximatetoit:sinceanyparticularexistingmoralrule，thoughnottheideallybestevenforsuchbeingsasexistingmenundertheexistingcircumstances，mayyetbethebestthattheycanbegottoobey:sothatitwouldbefutiletoproposeanyother，orevenharmful，asitmighttendtoimpairoldmoralhabitswithouteffectivelyreplacingthembynewones。Andsecondly，theendeavourgraduallytoapproximatetoamoralityconstructed