【西季威克】伦理学史纲.doc

OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF ETHICS FOR ENGLISH READERS BY HENRY SIDGWICK SOMETIME KNIGHTBRIDGE PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND AUTHOR OF THE METHODS OF ETHICS WITH AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER BY ALBAN G. WIDGERY PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, DUKE UNIVERSITY FORMERLY STANTON LECTURER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE BEACON PRESS BOSTON -i- First edition 1886 Sixth edition (enlarged) 1931 First published by Macmillan and Company, Ltd. First Beacon Paperback edition published in 1960 by arrangement with St. Martins Press, Inc. Printed in the United States of America -ii- NOTE TO THE ENLARGED EDITION SINCE its publication in 1886 this book has remained the best brief historical survey of Ethics in English. It has seemed, however, that a short account of the ethical thought of the last fifty years might contribute to its continued usefulness. Sidgwicks own work has been left untouched. In the additional chapter I have kept as closely as possible to the forms of expression used by the writers discussed. The treatment has been necessarily brief in order to keep it in due proportion with the earlier exposition. Though he is not responsible for any of the views expressed, Professor W. R. Sorley, Sidgwicks successor as Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge, read over the first draft of the chapter and gave me invaluable suggestions for its revision. Professor J. S. Mackenzie also aided me with useful suggestions on my beginning the work. I take this opportunity to thank both for their assistance and for their continued encouragement since my undergraduate days. ALBAN G. WIDGERY. DUKE UNIVERSITY, DURHAM, N.C., U.S.A., January 1931. -iii- Henry Sidgwick ( 1838-1900) was a British philosopher and teacher whose reputation rested largely on his work in the field of ethics. He was educated at Rugby and at Trinity College of Cambridge University, with which he was later associated as fellow, lecturer and professor of moral philosophy. One of the founders and first president of the Society for Psychical Research, he was also a member of the Metaphysical Society. He helped his wife, Eleanor, a sister of Arthur J. Balfour, to found Newnham, the Cambridge University college for women. Among Professor Sidgwick other writings were The Methods of Ethics ( 1874), Principles of Political Economy ( 1883), The Elements of Politics ( 1891), Practical Ethics ( 1898), Philosophy: Its Scope and Relations ( 1902) and Lectures on Kant ( 1905). -iv- PREFACE THE nucleus of this little book is formed by an article on Ethics which I wrote some years ago for the Encyclopdia Britannica. I found that, in the opinion of persons whose judgment had weight with me, this article appeared likely to meet the needs of English students desirous of obtaining a general knowledge of the history of ethical thought: I have, therefore, by the permission of Messrs. Black, the publishers of the Encyclopdia Britannica, reprinted it in this separate form. In so doing, I have considerably altered and enlarged it : but, after some hesitation, I determined to adhere to the main outlines of the original article, according to which the chapter (IV.) dealing with the modern period is mainly confined to English Ethics, and only deals with foreign ethical systems in a subordinate way, as sources of influence on English thought. I adopted this resolution, partly because it seemed to me that the merit of my article - if it had any - lay in a certain compact unity of movement which would -v- inevitably be lost if I tried to include a treatment of French and German moralists on a scale corresponding to my treatment of English moralists: while at the same time a considerable portion 1 of what I thus omitted appeared to me to have a distinctly subordinate interest for English readers as compared with what I included. I ought further to explain that, for somewhat similar reasons, I have taken pains to keep Ethics as separate as I conveniently could from Theology and Metaphysics, and also from Politics: this separation, however, is naturally less complete in some parts of the subject than in others ; - e.g. in dealing with the medieval period the relations of Ethics to Theology are necessarily more prominent than in the modern period. Finally, I may perhaps say that I have aimed throughout at the greatest possible impartiality and objectivity of treatment; and in order better to attain this result I have not attempted to deal with contemporary modes of ethical thought - with which I have been engaged controversially - except in a very brief and summary way. In the greater part of the book - i.e. in by far the larger part of Chapter II., in almost all Chapter IV., _ 1 I draw attention to the words a considerable portion because they were overlooked by a reviewer who selected this sentence for severe criticism. The omission of them substitutes an opinion which I should regard as indefensible for one which I still think almost incontrovertible. -vi- and in some of Chapter III. - my exposition is primarily based on my own study of the original authors. Where this is not the case I have tried to guard myself from error by comparing different historians of philosophy, and referring to the original authors whenever this comparison left me doubtful. And throughout I have endeavoured to correct and supplement the results of my own study by comparing them with the views expressed in other historical works. I am especially indebted, as regards Chapter II., to Zeller Geschichte der Griechischen Philosophie; but, in revising the chapter, I have also derived useful suggestions from Ziegler, Geschiclite der Ethik, and from an excellent little book on Epicureanism by Mr. Wallace. The account of Christian morality in Chapter III. was naturally derived from sources too numerous to mention; but for one or two statements in it I am certainly indebted to Lecky History of European Morals. The account of mediaeval ethics in the same Chapter was mainly composed, in the original article, by the aid of Neander and Wuttke; but in revising it I have had the valuable aid of Gass Christliche Ethik. 1 In the modern period I have derived suggestions from jdl, Geschichte der Ethik, from the Principles of Morals by Wilson and Fowler, from a little book _ 1 I ought also to have mentioned Stckl Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters as a book from which I have derived occasional assistance. -vii- by Mr. Fowler on Shaftesbury and Hutcheson from another of the same kind on Hobbes by Mr. Croom Robertson , and from Mr. Sully Pessimism; as well as from the comprehensive histories of philosophy by Ueberweg and Erdmann. I must also express my acknowledgment to friends and correspondents for advice that they have given me on various parts of the work: especially to Lord Acton; to R. D. Hicks, Esq., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; and to the Rev. Alexander Stewart, of Mains, Dundee, who has kindly aided me by reading through the proofs of the book. In revising this book for a second edition I have endeavoured to profit by all the criticism that has come under my notice; and have, in consequence, made several minor modifications in my statements. These have been chiefly in Chapter II. ( Greek and Greco-Roman Ethics); but I have also rewritten a large part of the account of Kants doctrine in Chapter IV. To avoid misunderstanding, I ought perhaps to explain that my changes do not necessarily imply an admission that my previous statements were erroneous; I have tried to avoid even objections that appeared to me unfounded, if I thought that I could do this without sacrificing anything that was in my own view important. Two different criticisms have been passed on the -viii- General Account of the Subject in Chapter I. by writers whose views deserve respectful consideration. An American critic - Mr. H. M. Stanley - says that the chapter is not characterised by that objectivity of treatment which the writer has stated to be his method. Its spirit is dogmatic rather than historical. One who is simply a historian should not give his own conception of the science of Ethics and discuss his subject accordingly, as Professor Sidgwick appears to do. On the other hand, Professor Wallace ( Mind, vol. xi. p. 471) speaks of this chapter as being little else than an abstract rsum of the facts presented elsewhere in the book under their historical aspect. What I aimed at in this chapter was something intermediate between these two descriptions of what I have actually done. I aimed at giving not my own conception, but a conception which would be generally accepted as adequately impartial and comprehensive by thinkers of different schools at the present day: while, in order to make this introductory definition more useful to historical students of ethics, I endeavoured to indicate briefly the order and manner in which the different elements in our present conception of the subject were historically developed. In conclusion, I must again express my obligations to Mr. R. D. Hicks for the valuable assistance that he has given me in the revision of Chapter II. -ix- In the third edition the chief alteration that I have made has consisted in enlarging materially my accounts of the doctrines of Hume and Adam Smith. I have also changed my opinion on a point of some importance in the history of Utilitarianism: I am now disposed to accept the posthumously published Deontology of Bentham, as giving a generally trustworthy account of his view as to the relation of Virtue to the virtuous agents Happiness. Further - besides correcting some misprints and clerical errors, and endeavouring to remove some awkwardnesses of expression - I have modified or explained a few statements which correspondents have criticised as obscure or misleading. I am grateful for such criticisms, to which I wish always to pay respectful attention. In the fourth edition I have made only verbal alterations; for several of which I am indebted to Miss Jones of Girton College, who has kindly assisted me in the revision. H. SIDGWICK. -x- CONTENTS PREFACE v INTRODUCTION I. GREEK AND GRECO-ROMAN ETHICS xvii 1. Pre-Socratic Ethics (550-430 B.C.) xviii 2. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle (430-322 B.C.) xix Cynics and Cyrenaics xix 3. Post-Aristotelian Ethics, from 300 B.C. to (say) 300 A.D. xx II. CHRISTIANITY AND MEDIVAL ETHICS xxi 1. Pre-Scholastic Period to 1100 A.D. xxii Augustine (354-430 A.D.) xxii Erigena ( cire. 810-877 A.D.) xxii 2. Scholasticism grows and culminates (1100-1274 A.D.) xxii 3. Decay of Medival Philosophy and Transition to Modern Thought (cire. 1300-1600 A.D.) xxii III. MODERN, CHIEFLY ENGLISH, ETHICS xxiii 1. Hobbes (1640 and 1651) xxiii 2. Independent Morality. Rational and Jural (1651-1711) xxiii 3. Psychological Anti-Egoism. Naturalness of Disinterested Benevolence and Conscience (1711-1747) xxiv 4. Butler (1726 and 1736). Dualism of Governing Principles. Divergence of Conscience and Benevolence xxiv 5. Psychology predominant over Ethics. Explanation of Moral Sentiments (1740-1759) xxv 6. Later Intuitionism and Common Sense, from 1757 (Price) or 1788 (Reid) xxv 7. Fully developed Utilitarianism, from 1785 (Paley) or 1789 (Bentham) xxv -xi- CHAPTER I 1. Ethics; the Study of the Ultimate Good of Man 1 Distinguished from Theology, the Study of Absolute Good 2 2. Ethics partially distinguished from Politics 2 3. Ethics and Psychology 4 4. Ethics; the Study of Duty or Right Conduct 6 5. Ethics and Jurisprudence 8 Origin of the Moral Faculty 9 Free Will 10 Summary View of Ethics 10 CHAPTER II 1. Pre-Socratic Philosophy 12 Pythagoras 13 Heraclitus 14 Democritus 15 2. The Age of the Sophists 17 3. Socrates 22 4. The Socratic Schools 31 Aristippus and the Cyrenaics 32 Antisthenes and the Cynics 33 5. Plato 35 6. Platos Theory of Virtue 41 7. Platos View of Pleasure; and its Relation to Human Good 48 8. Plato and Aristotle 51 9. Aristotles View of Human Wellbeing 55 10. Aristotles Theory of Virtue 59 11. Aristotles Account of Justice, Friendship, and Practical Wisdom 64 12. Plato and Aristotle on The Voluntary 68 13. Transition to Stoicism 70 Zeno 72 -xii- 14. Stoicism. The Passionless Sage 73 Stoic Freedom and Determinism 75 15. Stoic Wisdom and Nature 76 16. Stoics and Hedonists 82 17. Epicurus 85 18. Later Greek Philosophy 90 Academic Scepticism and Eclecticism 92 19. Philosophy in Rome 94 Cicero 95 20. Roman Stoicism 98 Seneca 99 Epictetus 99 Marcus Aurelius 100 21. Later Platonism and Neo-platonism 104 Plutarch 104 Plotinus 105 CHAPTER III 1. The Characteristics of Christian Morality to be distinguished 109 2. Christian and Jewish Law of God 110 3. Christian and Pagan Inwardness 114 Faith 115 Love 117 Purity (in general sense) 118 4. Distinctive Particulars of Christian Morality 118 Obedience 119 Alienation from the World and the Flesh 119 Patience 120 Beneficence 121 Christianity and Wealth 123 Purity (in special sense) 124 Humility 124 Religious Duty 125 Christianity and Free Will 126 -xiii- 5. Development of Opinion in early Christianity 127 Monastic Morality 128 6. Development of Ethical Doctrine 129 Augustine 131 Ambrose 133 7. Ecclesiastical Morality in the Dark Ages 134 8. Scholastic Ethics 136 Johannes Erigena 136 Anselm 137 Abelard 138 Scholastic Method 140 Peter the Lombard 140 9. Thomas Aquinas 141 Duns Scotus 147 Occam 147 10. Medival Mysticism 148 Bonaventura 149 Eckhart 151 11. Casuistry 151 The Jesuits 153 12. The Reformation 154 Transition to Modern Ethical Philosophy 155 CHAPTER IV 1. Modern Ethics before Hobbes 158 Bacon 158 The Law of Nature 160 Grotius 160 2. Hobbes 163 3. The Cambridge Moralists, Cudwortb 170 More 171 4. Morality as a Code of Nature 173 Cumberland 174 Locke 175 5. Clarke 179 6. Shaftesbury 184 -xiv- Mandeville 191 7. Butler 191 Wollaston 198 8. Shaftesburys Doctrine developed and systematised 200 Hutcheson 201 9. Moral Sentiments and Sympathy. Hume 204 Adam Smith 213 10. Moral Sentiments compounded by Association 218 Hartley 218 Psychology and Ethics 222 11. Later Intuitionism. Price 224 12. Reid 226 13. Dugald Stewart 231 Whewell 233 Controversy between Intuitional and Utilitarian Schools 235 14. Utilitarianism. Tucker 236 Paley 238 15. Bentham and his School 240 16. J. S. Mill 245 Associationism 250 17. Current Ethical Controversies 253 Association and Evolution 253 Evolutional Ethics 254 Optimism and Pessimism 258 Transcendentalism 259 T. H. Green 259 18. Free Will 260 Reid on Free Will 262 Determinist Ethics 265 19. French Influence on English Ethics 266 Helvetius 267 Comte 268 20. German Influence on English Ethics 270 Kant 271 Post-Kantian Ethics 277 Hegel 278 German Pessimism 280 Schopenhauer 280 Hartmann 282 -xv- CHAPTER V 1. Absolute Idealism 284 Bradley 285 Taylor 287 2. Personality as Central Concept of Ethics 288 3. Ethics of Evolution: criticism 290 Huxley 290 Nietzsche 291 Sorley and Schurman 292 Spencer 293 4. French Sociological Theory of Morality 295 Lvy-Bruhl 295 5. Utilitarianism 298 Sidgwick 298 6. Intuitionism 302 Martineau 302 7. Ethics as a Science 304 Wundt 304 8. Ethics and the Theory of Values 306 Brentano, Meinong, Ehrenfels 306, 307 Moore 309 Rashdall 313 Paulsen 316 Sorley 317 9. The Moral End as the Expansion of Life 321 Guyau 321 Eucken 321 Croce 323 Dewey 325 Hobhouse 328 10. Features of Contemporary Ethics 329 11. Ethics and Theism 334 12. Human Freedom 335 13. Morality and Immortality 337 Note on Additional Literature 338 INDEX 339 -xvi- INTRODUCTION IN order to assist the reader in grasping and arranging the somewhat compressed historical matter presented to him in this book, I have thought it desirable to prefix a brief conspectus of the three periods treated in Chapters II. III. and IV. respectively. I. - GREEK AND GRECO-ROMAN ETHICS The first of the three great divisions of my subject - the history of Greek and Greco-Roman Ethics - is most naturally subdivided again into Pre-Socratic Ethics, Socratico-PlatonicAristotelian Ethics, and Post-Aristotelian Ethics. If we use these as definite chronological divisions, the first period may be taken to extend till somewhere about 430 B.C., when the new dialectic of Socrates began to impress the Athenian public: the second may be taken to end eithe