5518. MORAL SENSE, Utility and.—
Some have argued against the existence of a
moral sense, by saying that if nature had given
us such a sense, impelling us to virtuous actions,
and warning us against those which are vicious,
then nature would also have designated, by
some particular earmarks, the two sets of actions
which are, in themselves, the one virtuous
and the other vicious. Whereas, we find, in
fact, that the same actions are deemed virtuous
in one country and vicious in another. The
answer is that nature has constituted utility to
man the standard and test of virtue. Men living
in different countries, under different circumstances,
different habits and regimens, May
have different utilities; the same act, therefore,
may be useful, and consequently virtuous in one
country which is injurious and vicious in another
differently circumstanced.—
To Thomas Law. Washington ed. vi, 351.
(M.
1814)
