ETHICAL TRAINING. 751 



of every school of thought agree as to this essential aim of right 

 conduct. Happiness, either immediate or remote, is the great 

 objective. 



We are here concerned with the means by which the individual 

 may be guided to act rightly under the varied and changing con- 

 ditions which social life imposes upon its members. 



A further limitation of our subject has to be noted. Actions in 

 general result fi'om two sets of causation — internal and external. 

 Stimuli from the environment, acting upon a sentient being, com- 

 pounded of a complex system of psychic forces, produce certain 

 actions which are determined by the totality of the conditions. And 

 any change in either of these compound factors of causation — the 

 internal and the external — will determine a change in the resulting 

 actions of that being. In this paper we are mainly concerned with 

 the internal or psychical factors in this dual control. Our object is 

 to discover by what means we may best secure a psychical condition 

 in the growing mind which will respond ethically to the stimuli it 

 receives from its social environment. Although we may not be able 

 to more than touch upon the external factors, their importance must 

 ever be kept in mind. For the average adult the social environment 

 is a powerful factor in determining conduct. And it is probable 

 that the individual adult will always be so permeated with the 

 collective spirit that his actions will be more or less in accord with 

 the social ideals of his time, country, and station in life. Hence it 

 is important that there should be clearly formulated an ethical ideal 

 which would meet with the approval of all sections of the community; 

 an ideal which could be placed before the parents and teachers of 

 our children, not in vague terms, but in definite outlines. So that 

 throughout the State our future citizens would receive the same 

 education of the emotions and sentiment, and would be more or less 

 subjected to the same form of moral suggestion. 



Our subject is more intimately concerned with the special bearing 

 of psychology upon the practice of ethical training. It is, therefore, 

 not necessary to attempt a technical discussion of psychological 

 theories beyond pointing out such general principles as serve our 

 purpose. 



One of the most clearly established psychological laws enunciates 

 the direct connection which subsists between emotion and action. It 

 has been demonstrated that not only does the quantity of the emotion 

 determine the intensity of the action ; but also that the quality 

 of the emotion determines the nature of the actions. As a pro- 

 position, it would seem that this law barely requires stating. But 

 while generally admitted in theory, it is commonly disregarded in 

 practice. It is, however, abimdantly shown in our daily experience 

 and observation. As it is an important factor in the psychological 

 basis of ethical training it calls for closer attention. We have already 

 noted that the defect of the old method of moral instruction lay in 

 the fact that it appealed chiefly to the intellect, and that this was 

 the logical outcome of the assumption that to know the right was to 

 do the right. That this assumption is still common among us is 

 shown by the fact that many well-meaning people are working 

 zealously to perpetuate the old method by establishing it more 



