TheprecedingsurveyhassupplieduswithseveralillustrationsofthemannerinwhichUtilitarianismisnormallyintroducedasamethodfordecidingbetweendifferentconflictingclaims，incaseswherecommonsenseleavestheirrelativeimportanceobscure，——as(e。g。)betweenthedifferentdutiesoftheaffections，andthedifferentprincipleswhichanalysisshowstobeinvolvedinourcommonconceptionofJustice——:andwehavealsonoticedhow，whenadisputeisraisedastotheprecisescopeanddefinitionofanycurrentmoralrule，theeffectsofdifferentacceptationsoftheruleongeneralhappinessorsocialwellbeingarecommonlyregardedastheultimategroundsonwhichthedisputeistobedecided。Infactthesetwoargumentspracticallyrunintoone；foritisgenerallyaconflictbetweenmaximsthatimpressesmenwiththeneedofgivingeachaprecisedefinition。Itmaybeurgedthattheconsequencestowhichreferenceiscommonlymadeinsuchcasesarerathereffectson`socialwellbeing’thanon`generalhappiness’asunderstoodbyUtilitarians；
andthatthetwonotionsoughtnottobeidentified。Igrantthis:butinthelastchapteroftheprecedingBookIhavetriedtoshowthatCommonSenseisunconsciouslyutilitarianinitspracticaldeterminationofthoseveryelementsinthenotionofUltimateGoodorWellbeingwhichatfirstsightleastadmitofahedonisticinterpretation。Wemaynowobservethatthishypothesisof`UnconsciousUtilitarianism’explainsthedifferentrelativeimportanceattachedtoparticularvirtuesbydifferentclassesofhumanbeings，andthedifferentemphasiswithwhichthesamevirtueisinculcatedonthesedifferentclassesbymankindgenerally。Forsuchdifferencesordinarilycorrespondtovariations——realorapparent——intheUtilitarianimportanceofthevirtuesunderdifferentcircumstances。
Thuswehavenoticedthegreaterstresslaidonchastityinwomenthaninmen:courage，ontheotherhand，ismorevaluedinthelatter，astheyaremorecalledupontocopeenergeticallywithsuddenandseveredangers。
Andforsimilarreasonsasoldierisexpectedtoshowahigherdegreeofcouragethan(e。g。)apriest。Again，thoughweesteemcandourandscrupuloussincerityinmostpersons，wescarcelylookfortheminadiplomatistwhohastoconcealsecrets，nordoweexpectthatatradesmanindescribinghisgoodsshouldfranklypointouttheirdefectstohiscustomers。
Finally，whenwecomparethedifferentmoralcodesofdifferentagesandcountries，weseethatthediscrepanciesamongthemcorrespond，atleasttoagreatextent，todifferenceseitherintheactualeffectsofactionsonhappiness，orintheextenttowhichsucheffectsaregenerallyforeseen——orregardedasimportant——bythemenamongwhomthecodesaremaintained。Severalinstancesofthishavealreadybeennoticed:andthegeneralfact，whichhasbeenmuchdweltuponbyUtilitarianwriters，isalsoadmittedandevenemphasisedbytheiropponents。ThusDugaldStewartlaysstressontheextenttowhichthemoraljudgmentsofmankindhavebeenmodifiedby``thediversityintheirphysicalcircumstances’’，the``unequaldegreesofcivilisationwhichtheyhaveattained’’，and``theirunequalmeasuresofknowledgeorofcapacity’’。Hepointsout，forinstance，thattheftisregardedasaveryvenialoffenceintheSouthSeaIslanders，becauselittleornolabouristhererequiredtosupportlife；thatthelendingofmoneyforinterestiscommonlyreprehendedinsocietieswherecommerceisimperfectlydeveloped，becausethe`usurer’insuchcommunitiesiscommonlyintheodiouspositionofwringingagainoutofthehardnecessitiesofhisfellows；andthatwherethelegalarrangementsforpunishingcrimeareimperfect，privatemurderiseitherjustifiedorregardedveryleniently。Manyotherexamplesmightbeaddedtotheseifitwereneedful。ButIconceivethatfewpersonswhohavestudiedthesubjectwilldenythatthereisacertaindegreeofcorrelationbetweenthevariationsinthemoralcodefromagetoage，andthevariationsintherealorperceivedeffectsongeneralhappinessofactionsprescribedorforbiddenbythecode。Andinproportionastheapprehensionofconsequencesbecomesmorecomprehensiveandexact，wemaytracenotonlychangeinthemoralcodehandeddownfromagetoage，butprogressinthedirectionofacloserapproximationtoaperfectlyenlightenedUtilitarianism。
Onlywemustdistinctlynoticeanotherimportantfactorintheprogress，whichStewarthasnotmentioned:theextension，namely，ofthecapacityforsympathyinanaveragememberofthecommunity。Theimperfectionofearliermoralcodesisatleastasmuchduetodefectivenessofsympathyasofintelligence；often，nodoubt，therudermandidnotperceivetheeffectsofhisconductonothers；butoften，again，heperceivedthemmoreorless，butfeltlittleornoconcernaboutthem。Thusithappensthatchangesintheconscienceofacommunityoftencorrespondtochangesintheextentanddegreeofthesensitivenessofanaveragememberofittothefeelingsofothers。OfthisthemoraldevelopmenthistoricallyworkedoutundertheinfluenceofChristianityaffordsfamiliarillustrations。
Iamnotmaintainingthatthiscorrelationbetweenthedevelopmentofcurrentmoralityandthechangesintheconsequencesofconductassympatheticallyforecast，isperfectandexact。Onthecontrary，——asIshallhaveoccasiontopointcutinthenextchapter——thehistoryofmoralityshowsusmanyevidencesofwhat，fromtheUtilitarianpointofview，appeartobepartialaberrationsofthemoralsense。ButevenintheseinstanceswecanoftendiscoveragermofunconsciousUtilitarianism；
theaberrationisoftenonlyanexaggerationofanobviouslyusefulsentiment，ortheextensionofitbymistakenanalogytocasestowhichitdoesnotproperlyapply，orperhapsthesurvivalofasentimentwhichoncewasusefulbuthasnowceasedtobeso。
Further，itmustbeobservedthatIhavecarefullyabstainedfromassertingthattheperceptionoftherightnessofanykindofconducthasalways-orevenordinarily-beenderivedbyconsciousinferencefromaperceptionofconsequentadvantages。Thishypothesisisnaturallysuggestedbysuchasurveyasthepreceding；buttheevidenceofhistoryhardlyseemstometosupportit:since，asweretracethedevelopmentofethicalthought，theUtilitarianbasisofcurrentmorality，whichI
haveendeavouredtoexhibitinthepresentchapter，seemstoberatherlessthanmoredistinctlyapprehendedbythecommonmoralconsciousness。
Thus(e。g。)AristotleseesthatthesphereoftheVirtueofCourage(andreia)，asrecognisedbytheCommonSenseofGreece，isrestrictedtodangersinwar:andwecannowexplainthislimitationbyareferencetotheutilitarianimportanceofthiskindofcourage，ataperiodofhistorywhentheindividual’shappinesswasboundupmorecompletelythanitnowiswiththewelfareofhisstate，whiletheveryexistenceofthelatterwasmorefrequentlyimperilledbyhostileinvasions:butthisexplanationliesquitebeyondtherangeofAristotle’sownreflection。Theoriginofourmoralnotionsandsentimentslieshidinthoseobscureregionsofhypotheticalhistorywhereconjecturehasfreescope:butwedonotfindthat，asourretrospectapproachesthebordersofthisrealm，theconsciousconnexioninmen’smindsbetweenacceptedmoralrulesandforeseeneffectsongeneralhappinessbecomesmoreclearlytraceable。Theadmirationfeltbyearlymanforbeautiesorexcellencesofcharacterseemstohavebeenasdirectandunreflectiveashisadmirationofanyotherbeauty:andthestringencyoflawandcustominprimitivetimespresentsitselfassanctionedbytheevilswhichdivinedispleasurewillsupernaturallyinflictontheirviolators，ratherthanbyevenarudeandvagueforecastofthenaturalbadconsequencesofnonobservance。Itisthereforenotasthemodeofregulatingconductwithwhichmankindbegan，butratherasthattowhichwecannowseethathumandevelopmenthasbeenalwaystending，astheadultandnotthegerminalformofMorality，thatUtilitarianismmaymostreasonablyclaimtheacceptanceofCommonSense。
IfweconsidertherelationofEthicstoPoliticsfromaUtilitarianpointofview，thequestion，whatrulesofconductforthegovernedshouldbefixedbylegislatorsandappliedbyjudges，willbedeterminedbythesamekindofforecastofconsequencesaswillbeusedinsettlingallquestionsofprivatemorality:weshallendeavourtoestimateandbalanceagainsteachothertheeffectsofsuchrulesonthegeneralhappiness。Insofar，however，aswedividetheUtilitariantheoryofprivateconductfromthatoflegislation，andaskwhichisprior，theanswerwouldseemtobedifferentinrespectofdifferentpartsofthelegalcode。
1。Toagreatextenttheruleslaiddowninautilitariancodeoflawwillbesuchasanymansincerelydesirousofpromotingthegeneralhappinesswouldgenerallyendeavourtoobserve，eveniftheywerenotlegallybinding。Ofthiskindistheruleofnotinflictinganybodilyharmorgratuitousannoyanceonanyone，exceptinself-defenceorasretributionforwrong；theruleofnotinterferingwithanother’spursuitofthemeansofhappiness，orwithhisenjoymentofwealthacquiredbyhisownlabourorthefreeconsentofothers；theruleoffulfillingallengagementsfreelyenteredintowithanyone，——atanyrateunlessthefulfilmentwereharmfultoothers，ormuchmoreharmfultooneselfthanbeneficialtohim，orunlessthereweregoodgroundsforsupposingthattheotherpartywouldnotperformhisshareofabilateralcontract——；andtheruleofsupportingone’schildrenwhilehelpless，andone’sparentsifdecrepit，andofeducatingone’schildrensuitablytotheirfuturelife。Asregardssuchrulesasthese，UtilitarianEthicsseemsindependentofPolitics，andnaturallypriortoit；wefirstconsiderwhatconductisrightforprivateindividuals，andthentohowmuchofthistheycanadvantageouslybecompelledbylegalpenalties。
2。Thereareotherrulesagainwhichitisclearlyforthegeneralhappinesstoobserve，ifonlytheirobservanceisenforcedonothers；e。g。abstinencefrompersonalretaliationofinjuries，andamoregeneralandunhesitatingfulfilmentofcontractsthanwouldperhapsbeexpedientiftheywerenotlegallyenforced。
3。Butagain，inthecompletedeterminationofthemutualclaimsofmembersofsocietytoservicesandforbearances，therearemanypointsonwhichtheutilitariantheoryofrightprivateconductapartfromlawwouldleadtoaconsiderablevarietyofconclusions，fromthegreatdifferenceintheforceoftherelevantconsiderationsunderdifferentcircumstances；whileatthesametimeuniformityiseitherindispensable，topreventdisputesanddisappointments，oratleasthighlydesirable，inordertomaintaineffectivelysuchrulesofconductasaregenerally——thoughnotuniversally——expedient。Underthisheadwouldcometheexacterdefinitionofthelimitsofappropriation，——e。g。asregardspropertyinliterarycompositionsandtechnicalinventions，——andalargepartofthelawofinheritance，andofthelawregulatingthefamilyrelations。
Insuchcases，insofarastheyarecapableofbeingtheoreticallydetermined，UtilitarianEthicsseemstoblendwithUtilitarianPoliticsinarathercomplicatedway；sincewecannotdeterminetherightconductforaprivateindividualinanyparticularcase，withoutfirstconsideringwhatrule(ifany)itwouldbeonthewholeexpedienttomaintain，inthesocietyofwhichheisamember，bylegalpenalties，aswellasbytheweakerandlessdefinitesanctionsofmoralopinion。Thisproblem，moreover，inanyconcretecaseisnecessarilyfurthercomplicatedbytheconsiderationofthedelicatemutualrelationsofPositiveLawandPositiveMorality——aswemaycalltheactualmoralopinionsgenerallyheldinagivensocietyatagiventime。ForontheonehanditisdangerousinlegislationtoadvancebeyondPositiveMorality，byprohibitingactions(orinactions)
thataregenerallyapprovedortolerated；ontheotherhand，uptothepointatwhichthisdangerbecomesserious，legislationisamosteffectiveinstrumentformodifyingorintensifyingpublicopinion，inthedirectioninwhichitisdesirablethatitshouldprogress。Leavingthisdifficultquestionofsocialdynamics，wemaysaythatnormallyinawell-organisedsocietythemostimportantandindispensablerulesofsocialbehaviourwillbelegallyenforcedandthelessimportantlefttobemaintainedbyPositiveMorality。Lawwillconstitute，asitwere，theskeletonofsocialorder，clotheduponbythefleshandbloodofMorality。
