第 44 节
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暖暖 更新:2021-02-24 23:00 字数:9322
ed as become obsolete。 '1' Lecky: 〃History of European Morals。〃 As he points out; the belief in witchcraft never was disproved; it simply died because science made it impossible to believe that witches could disorganize natural laws。
It may seem as if imitation were a separate principle in mental growth; and there have been many to state this。 As is well known Tarde made it a leading factor in human development。 It seems to me that it is linked up with desire for experience; desire for fellowship; and also with a strongly competitive feeling; which is early manifest in children and which may be called 〃a want of what the other fellow has。〃 Children at the age of a year and up may be perfectly pleased with what they have until they see another child playing with something;something perhaps identical with their own。 They then betray a decided; uncontrollable desire for the other child's toy; they are no longer content with their own; and by one means or another they seek to get it;by forcible means; by wheedling or coaxing; or by tormenting their parents。 The disappearance of contentment through the competitive feeling; the competitive nature of desire; the role that envy plays in the happiness and effort of man; is a thesis emphasized by every moralist and philosopher since the beginning of things。 In the strivings of every man; though he admit it or not; one of the secret springs of his energy is this law of desire; that a large part of its power and persistence is in the competitive feeling; is in envy and the wish to taste what others are experiencing。 A basic law of desire lies in an observation of Lotze; elaborated by William James。 We may talk of selfishness and altruism as if they were entirely separate qualities of human nature。 But what seems to be true is that one is an extension of the other; that is; we are always concerned with the ego feeling; but in the one case the ego feeling is narrow and in the other case it includes others as part of the ego。 Lotze's observations on clothes shows that we expend ego feeling in all directions; that we tend to be as tall as our top hats and as penetrating as our walking sticks; that the man who has a club in his hand has a tactile sense to the very end of the club。 James in his marvelous chapter on the various selves points out that a man's interests and affections are his selves; and that they enclose one another like the petals of a rose。 We may speak of unipetalar selves; who include only their own bodies in self…feeling; of bipetalar selves who include in it their families; and from there on we go to selves who include their work; their community; their nation; until we reach those very rare souls whose petals cover all living things。 So men extend their self…feeling; if ambitious; to their work; to their achievements;if paternal to their children; if domestic; to wife and home; if patriotic to the nation; etc。 Development lies in the extension of the self…feeling and in the increase of its intensity。 But the obstacle lies in the competitive feelings; in that dualism of man's nature that makes him yearn not only for fellowship; but also for superiority。 These desires are in eternal opposition; but are not necessarily antagonistic; any more than are the thumb and the little finger as they meet in some task; any more than are excitation and inhibition。 Every function in our lives has its check and balance; and fellowship; yearning and superiority urge one another。 From the cradle to the grave; we desire fellowship as an addition to our gregarious feeling。 We ask for approval; for we expand under sympathy and contract under cold criticism。 Nothing is so pleasant as 〃appreciation;〃 which means taking us at our own valuation or adding to it;; and there is no complaint so common as; 〃They don't understand me;〃 which merely means; 〃They blame me without understanding that I really seek the good; that I am really good; though perhaps I seem not to be。〃 The child who hurts its thumb runs to its mother for sympathy; and the pain is compensated for; at least in part; by that sympathy。 Throughout life we desire sympathy for our hurts; except where that sympathy brings with it a feeling of inferiority。 To be helped by others in one way or another is the practical result of this aspect of fellowship。 (There is a convincing physical element in the feelings and desires of man; evidenced in language and phrase。 Superiority equals aboveness; inferiority equals beneathness; sympathy equals the same feeling。 To criticize is to 〃belittle〃 and to cause the feeling of littleness; to praise is 〃to make a man expand;〃 to enlarge him。 Blame hurts one's feelings;〃He wounded me;〃 etc。) At the same time we are strangely affected by the condition of others。 Where no competitive…jealousy complex is at work; we laugh with other people in their happiness; we are moved to tears by suffering; we admire vigor; beauty and the fine qualities of others; we accept their purposes and beliefs; we are glad to agree with the stranger or the friend and hate to disagree。 We establish within ourselves codes and standards largely because we wish to accept and believe and act in the same way as do those we want as fellows。 Having set up that code as conscience or ideals; it helps us to govern our lives; it gives a stability in that we tend at once to resist jealousy; envy; the 〃wrong〃 emotions and actions。 〃Helping others〃 becomes a great motive in life; responding to misery with tears; consolation and kindness; reacting to the good deeds of others with praise。 To be generous and charitable becomes method for the extension of fellowship。 Asking for help in its varied form of praise; appreciation and kindness; giving help as appreciation and kindness; are the weak and strong aspects of the fellowship feelings。 It is a cynical view of life; perhaps; but it is probably true that the weak phase is more common and more constant than the second。 Almost everybody loves praise and appreciation; for these enlarge the ego feeling; and some; perhaps most; like to be helped; though here; as was above stated; there is a feeling of inferiority aroused which may be painful。 Relatively there are few who are ready to praise; especially those with whom they are in close contact and with whom they are in a sort of rivalry。 The same is true of genuine appreciation; of real warm fellow feeling; the leader; the hero; the great man receives that but not the fellow next door。 As for giving; charity; kindness; these are common enough in a sporadic fashion; but rarely are they sustained and constant; and often they have to depend on the desire 〃not to be outdone;〃 not to seem inferior;have; as it were; to be shamed into activity。 For there is competition even in fellowship。 There are people; especially among the hysterics; who are deeply wounded when sympathy is not given; when appreciation and praise is withheld or if there is the suggestion of criticism。 They are people of a 〃tender ego;〃 not self…sustaining; demanding the help of others and reacting to the injury sustained; when it is not given; by prolonged emotion。 These sensitive folk; who form a most difficult group; do not all react alike; of course。 Some respond with anger and ideas of persecution; some with a prolonged humiliation and feeling of inferiority; still others develop symptoms that are meant to appeal to the conscience of the one who has wounded them。 On the other hand; there are those whose feeling of self sustains them in the face of most criticism; who depend largely upon the established mentor within themselves and who seek to conform to the rulings of that inward mentor。 Such people; if not martyred too soon; and if possessed of a fruitful ideal; lay new criteria for praise and blame。 Contrasting with the desires and purposes of fellowship we find the desires and purposes of superiority and power。 Primarily these are based on what McDougall calls the instinct of self…display; which becomes intellectualized and socialized very early in the career of the child。 In fact; we might judge a man largely by the way he displays himself; whether by some essentially personal bodily character; some essentially mental attribute or some essentially moral quantity; whether he seeks superiority as a means of getting power or as a means of doing good; whether he seeks it within or without the code。 One might go on indefinitely; including such matters as whether he seeks superiority with tact or the reverse and whether he understands the essential shallowness and futility of his pursuit or not。 To be superior is back of most of striving; and it is the most camouflaged of all human motives and pleasures。 For this is true: that the preaching of humility; of righteous conduct; of service; of self…sacrifice; by religion and ethics have convinced man that these are the qualities one ought to have。 So men seek; whenever they can; to dress their other motives and feelings in the garb of altruism。 Camouflage of motive as a means of social approval has thus become a very important part of character; we seek constantly to penetrate the camouflage of our rivals and enemies and bitterly resist any effort to strip away our own; often enough hiding it successfully from ourselves。 There are few who face boldly th