Education and the Philosophical Ideal by Horatio W. Dresser - Read the Complete Text for free at NewThoughtLibrary.com

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Horatio W. Dresser's

Education and the Philosophical Ideal

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Preface - Introduction - The New Point of View - Educational Ideals - Equanimity - The Subconscious Mind - The Spiritual Ideal in Childhood - An Experiment in Education - The Expression of the Spirit - An Ideal Summer Conference - The Ministry of the Spirit - The Mystery of Pain and Evil - The Philosophical Ideal - The Criteria of Truth - Organic Perfection - Immortality - Index - p. 247

There may be times when it is wisest to let the thief take the cloak also. But is it wise to let the evils of society pass and make no effort to overcome them? "Overcome evil with good," the rule goes on to say. In other words, it is a question of what motive to obey. There is a right and a wrong way of resisting evil. We must discriminate between our impulses, now obeying, now inhibiting. We are not called upon impassively to accept all that comes, complacently declaring that "Whatever is, is right." We must always resist something. It is only a question of what.

And so our moral consistency is dependent upon knowledge of the conditions under which now this motive is to rule and now that. Generally speaking, it may be wrong to tell a lie. But conditions are conceivable under which it might be justifiable to tell a lie to save a life. For instance, in order to rescue an innocent person from a would-be murderer. In this case moral consistency lies in fidelity to the greater good. It would be immoral to tell the truth, alleging as excuse that truth-telling is an absolute rule. It would be perfectly moral to tell a lie.

Nature offers precisely such illustrations of seeming inconsistency amidst consistency. The apple obeys gravity and falls, provided only that someone does not tie it on or pick it from the tree. Ice melts, but only under certain conditions of temperature. Action and reaction are equal, but an unforeseen factor may enter in to mar a planned

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