20 



sense organs, and "association" does the rest. Bain differs 

 from his predecessors, however, in that he introduces a new 

 factor, namely, 'Spontaneity', which has special reference to 

 the Will. Prior to sensation there is a spontaneous activity 

 coming from ourselves, coming from within, which acts of 

 itself, and not by reaction against the external world. This 

 spontaneity contains the germ of the development of Will. 1 

 In a few words it may be described as a "store of nervous 

 energy, accumulated through the nutrition and repose of the 

 system, and proceeding into action with, or without, the 

 application of outward stimulants or feelings anyhow arising". 2 

 ' 'Movement precedessensation , and is at the outset independent 

 of any stimulus from without; and that activity (ostensibly 

 the one above) 3 is a more intimate and inseparable property 

 of our constitution than any of our sensations, and in fact 

 enters as a component part into every one of the senses, 

 giving them the character of compounds, while itself is a simple 

 and elementary property." 4 As is evident, this Spontaneity, 

 and consequently the Will which develops from it, has its 

 origin in the physical organism, and thus, for Bain, as for his 

 predecessors, pleasure and pain are the all-important motive- 

 factors in the realm of morals. The necessity of the connection 

 of these with action is made more apparent in Bain's "law of 

 self-conservation" that "states of pleasure are connected with 

 an increase, and states of pain with an abatement of some, 

 or all, of the vital functions". 5 The operation of pleasure and 

 pain in human action is thus seen to be essentially the opera- 

 tion of the organism to preserve itself, and thus pleasure and 

 pain, utility, and the preservation of life, are all reduced to 

 the operation of the one great law, by Bain. This has intro- 

 duced no little confusion into the distinction of the three forms 

 of ethical theory based upon these facts. 



With the development of this psychology, it is not difficult 

 to understand the place which would be occupied by the 

 phenomena of morality. The words 'morality', 'duty', 

 'obligation', belong to the class of actions which is supported 

 and reinforced by the sanction of a punishment (that is, pain). 

 Conscience is an ideal reflection of public authority growing up 

 in the individual mind arid making to the same end. 6 There is 

 no moral criterion in the human mind. The fundamental fact 



1 O.C. Bk. I, Ch. 1. 



2 Alex. Bain, "The Emotions and the Will", 3rd ed. 1880. "The Will", 

 p. 304. 



'Parenthesis mine. 



<O.C. p. 303. 



" Emotions and Will", p. 311. "Senses and Intellect", p. 283. 



6 " Emotions and Will", p. 286 ff. 



