Social environment and moral progress / by Alfred Russel Wallace.

  • Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823-1913.
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Social environment and moral progress / by Alfred Russel Wallace. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/180 (page 5)
    Morality Based upon Character The mental faculties which go to form the character of each man or woman are very numerous, a large proportion of them being such as are required for the preservation of the individual and of the race, while others are pre-eminently social or ethical. These latter, which impel us to truth, to justice, and to benevolence, when in due proportion to all the other mental faculties, go to form what we dis¬ tinguish as a good or moral character, and will in most cases result in actions which meet with the general approval of that section of society in which we live ; and this approval reacts upon the character so that it often appears to be better than it really is. So great is the efíect of this approval of our fellows that it sometimes leads to behaviour quite different from what it would be if this approval were absent. This is especially the case when the approval leads to wealth or positions of dignity or advantage. Occasionally, in cases of this kind the individual cannot resist his natural impulses, and then acts so as to show his underlying real character. We term such persons hypocrites for making us believe that they were inher¬ es