A Brief Text-Book of Moral Philosophy (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1895. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... BOOK III. SOCIAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, CHAPTER I. SOCIETY IN GENERAL. 193. Men, we know from observation, are not by nature isolated individuals. They are associated in many ways: as members of families, as belonging to a tribe, as dwelling close to one another in hamlets and towns, as fellow-citizens of a political State. This relation of men to one another gives rise to a most important class of rights and duties, which we shall study in the present book. A society is the union of several or many persons for the purpose of obtaining a common end by the use of common means. Sociality, in the strict meaning of the term, is distinctive of man, since only rational beings can direct means to an end. Brutes can never be social, though they may sometimes be gregarious; some species may simulate society by instinctively acting in concert for a common good. 194. The nature of each society is specified by the end for which it was established. Religious society, the noblest of societies, because its end is noblest, promotes the worship of God; domestic society was instituted for the sake of family life; the end of civil society is the welfare of the nation; international society forwards the prosperity of many nations bound together for the protection of their common interests. Besides, there are innumerable societies of less importance than the far-reaching associations mentioned above, such as benevolent, commercial, literary and scientific societies. It need hardly be mentioned that no society is lawful that is detrimental to the common good, or to the welfare of a higher society. 195. We may ascertain the rights of any society in particular by examining the end for which it exists. If the end is lawful, the means to that end are lawful, provided such means violate no pr...