Page:An introduction to ethics.djvu/75

 let or hindrance. The frank impulsiveness of the child is often very attractive. But impulsive behaviour which would be charming in the child might be detestable in the adult. We say that the adult ought to be able to control his impulses.

Impulses are isolated. There is no continuity between one impulsive action and another. Impulsive behaviour is stimulated simply by the needs and interests of the moment. Hence there is nothing stable or constant about impulsive behaviour. The uncertainty and capriciousness of impulses become very evident when they conflict. For example, a young child is set on the floor on the other side of the room from its mother and father, who are sitting on either side of the fire. For fun the father tries to attract the child to come to him, and the mother seeks to entice it to come to her. The child is obviously swayed, as we can see by its "wobbling," now by the impulse to go to its mother, now by that to go to its father. The impulses immediately impel it in one direction or the other, and it simply obeys the impulse which is strongest at the moment.

§ 2. The Control of Impulse. As the child's character develops, it gradually comes to control its impulses. It reflects, in a rudimentary way, on the alternatives when two impulses affect it, and it deliberates whether to obey the one or the