of his fellows, he will feel himself impelled, apart from any
transitory pleasure or pain, to certain lines of conduct. He might then
declare not that any barbarian or uncultivated man could thus think I
am the supreme judge of my own conduct, and in the words of Kant, I
will not in my own person violate the dignity of humanity.
THE MORE ENDURING SOCIAL INSTINCTS CONQUER THE LESS PERSISTENT
INSTINCTS.
We have not, however, as yet considered the main point, on which, from
our present point of view, the whole question of the moral sense turns.
Why should a man feel that he ought to obey one instinctive desire
rather than another? Why is he bitterly regretful, if he has yielded to
a strong sense of self-preservation, and has not risked his life to
save that of a fellow-creature? or why does he regret having stolen
food from hunger?
It is evident in the first place, that with mankind the instinctive
impulses have different degrees of strength; a savage will risk his own
life to save that of a member of the same community, but will be wholly
indifferent about a stranger: a young and timid mother urged by the
maternal instinct will, without a moment s hesitation, run the greatest
danger for her own infant, but not for a mere fellow-creature.
Nevertheless many a civilised man, or even boy, who never before risked
his life for another, but full of courage and sympathy, has disregarded
the instinct of self-preservation, and plunged at once into a torrent
to save a drowning man, though a stranger. In this case man is impelled
by the same instinctive motive, which made the heroic little American
monkey, formerly described, save his keeper, by attacking the great and
dreaded baboon. Such actions as the above appear to be the simple
result of the greater strength of the social or maternal instincts
rather than that of any other instinct or motive; for they are
performed too instantaneously for reflection, or for pleasure or pain
to be felt at the time; though, if prevented by any cause, distress or
even misery might be felt. In a timid man, on the other hand, the
instinct of self-preservation might be so strong, that he would be
unable to force himself to run any such risk, perhaps not even for his
own child.
I am aware that some persons maintain that actions performed
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