But low or high, it is upon intuitions that men actually fall back in
justifying their actions. Benevolence, justice, honesty, truthfulness,
purity, honor, modesty, courtesy, and what not, are intuitively perceived
to be right, and an effort is made to bring the individual act under some
one of these headings. The mass of men, even in enlightened communities,
do not feel impelled to justify these general moral maxims, to reduce
them to a harmonious system, or to reconcile with each other the
different lists of them which have been drawn up. They find it possible
in practice to resolve most of their doubts by an appeal to this maxim or
to that. From such doubts as refuse to be resolved they are apt to turn
away their attention. But the moral life goes on, and to intuitions it
owes its guidance.
As to the few who reduce the moral intuitions to a minimum, and, like
Kant and Sidgwick, end with one or two ultimate intuitional moral
principles, we may say that they, like other men, are compelled, in the
actual conduct of life, to turn to intuitions of lower orders.
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