MORALITY 



and for the sexual selection of the sexes, but also in con- 

 nection with the origin of the feeling of shame and the 

 finer psychological traits that relate to it. The lower 

 savages have no more sense of shame than animals or 

 children. They are quite naked, and accomplish the 

 sexual act without the slightest trace of shame. The 

 beginning of clothing which we find among the middle 

 savages is not due to a sense of shame, but partly to low 

 temperature (in the polar regions), partly to vanity and 

 love of decoration (such as ornamenting the ears, lips, 

 nose, and sex-organs by the insertion of shells, pieces 

 of wood, flowers, stones, etc.). Afterwards the sense of 

 shame sets in, and we have the covering of certain parts 

 of the body with leaves, girdles, shirts, etc. In most 

 nations the sexual parts are the first to be covered; 

 though some attach importance to the veiling of the 

 face. In many Oriental tribes (especially Mohamme- 

 dan) it is still the first precept of female chastity to veil 

 the face (the most characteristic part of the individual), 

 while the rest of the body may remain naked. General- 

 ly speaking, the aesthetic and psychological relations of 

 the sexes play the chief part in the higher development 

 of morals. Morality is often taken to be synonymous 

 with the law of sexual intercourse. 



As the features of civilized life advance, the influence 

 of reason increases, and so does the power of hereditary 

 tradition and the moral ideas associated with it. The 

 result is a severe conflict between the two. Reason 

 seeks to judge everything by its own standard, to learn 

 the causes of phenomena and direct practical life accord- 

 ingly. On the other hand tradition, or "good morals," 

 looks at everything from the point of view of our fore- 

 fathers and other venerable laws and religious precepts. 

 It is indifferent to the independent discoveries of reason 

 and the real causes of things. It demands that the 

 practical life of every individual be framed in accordance 



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