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Chapter VIII
Causes of Immorality

If The causes of immorality have been glanced at in our progress. They may be comprised under the following heads. False
principles in morals – misapplication of religion – preference of the self-regarding
to the social interest & lastly preference of lesser present to greater
distant pleasure.

False principles in morals may be classed under the two heads of asceticism &
sentimentalism, – & both demand the useless sacrifice of pleasure, the sacrifice
of pleasure to no purpose of greater pleasure. Asceticism proceeds farther
than sentimentalism, – & inflicts useless pain. Both avoid the putting forward
reasons – & act as far as it is possible to act upon the affections. Asceticism
generally on the antipathies, by fear & terror, – sentimentalism on the
sympathies. They both would dispense with the assistance of books of
morality, and confirm men in the notion that bad morals are all that are
fit for practice, good ones only for discourse & parade. They both shun
the application of the tests of law morality, and exist in their highest
exercise where morality is at its lowest point. Asceticism then becomes
the immediate & close ally of misanthropy, – & sentimentalism of
helplessness. False morality can only never be cultivated but at the expense
of true morality.

Out of the ascetic principle, – the principle of antipathy
grows the wish to punish vindictively – to make punishment the
minister to dislike. Men punish because they hate – and they imagine
that the Law itself is but the inflicter of the vengeance of the
Law. The more intense their men's hatred, the more severe would they
fain make the punishment with which they visit the objects of their hatred.

Crimes they are told they ought to hate. Crimes it is made a matter of
merit to in them to hate. Crimes it is a matter of merit, of more perhaps of merit than
of necessity to punish. They are to hate them, they are to punish
them. Tis their hating makes them wish to punish. How then should
they punish but as they hate? The more they are disposed to hate, the
more they are disposed to punish. What wonder? To ordinary
apprehensions no mischief from this is visible. Yet more. No mischief
in many cases exists. Since in many cases it is true that the
cause of hatred and the demand for punishment – the cause which makes hatred rise & the reason which makes punishment expedient increase together.
If

Identifier: | JB/015/216/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	015	Main Headings	deontology
Folio number	216	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles	chapter viii causes of immorality
Category	linking material	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	f71
Penner	sir john bowring	Watermarks	j rump 1831
Marginals		Paper Producer	ann elizabeth lind; franz ludwig tribolet
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year	1831
Notes public		ID Number	5432
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