Developing Moral Character
The whole field of our obligation both positive and negative; that is, the “I oughts” and the “I ought nots”; what we ought to do and what we ought to avoid; our duty toward ourselves, our duty toward mankind and our duty toward God, come to us through what we term moral or ethical science. A mental construction having as its basis purity and duty. When the moral nature is cultivated and developed it controls every action of man, radiating from the individual to society and from society back again to the individual.
We study moral science in order that we may conduct ourselves properly in all relations of life; that we may be inwardly pure and outwardly moral; that we may be harmonious in our mental construction and in our relations with the world. It is true that we may attain some degree of morality without giving it especial study, just as we may live in the world and perform the ordinary work of life without scholastic learning. There is a natural desire for knowledge—we seek a rational account of things. Moral science endeavors to give us this rational account of moral conduct which we find everywhere in some form, to correct and improve it, to elevate and purify our moral ideals.