Page:Dawn of the Day.pdf/186

150 —If, as the current definition runs, only those actions moral which have been done for the sake of others, and for their sakes only—there are no moral actions! If only those actions are moral—as another definition declares—which are done spontaneously, then again there are no moral actions! What then is it that we call by this name and which surely exists and needs explaining? They are the results of some intellectual blunders. Suppose we were to free ourselves from these mistakes, what then would become of “moral actions’? Owing to these blunders we were wont to attribute to some actions a higher value than they really possess: we separated them from the “selfish” and “involuntary” actions. If we again range them among the latter, as we shall have to do, we certainly reduce their value (their own estimate) below its proper level, because “selfish” and “involuntary” actions, owing to that alleged great and intrinsic difference, have hitherto been undervalued. Will then these very actions, in the future, be less frequently accomplished because they are henceforth to be less highly valued? Inevitably so! at least for a pretty long time, as long as the balance of valuation drops below the reaction of former mistakes. But in return we restore to men their cheerful courage for such actions as are reputed selfish, and re-establish their value—we relieve them of their evil consciences.