GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

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ETHICS
}pf\iffiri^nt data in circumstances in which one might,
had one taken die trouble, have obtained sufficient data.
Not only are we required to take trouble to obtain the
data necessary for judgment; we are also required to
judge adequately on the basis of the data. If on the basis
of adequate data a man makes a foolish and obviously
mistaken estimate of the probable results of an action he
is proposing to take, he is, it would be generally agreed,
not so morally praiseworthy as a man who, in similar
circumstances, makes a, correct judgment. We here reach
the conclusion which I have already endeavoured to
establish in 1
another connection, that it is not
namely,
enough for the good man to have the will and the capacity
to perform his duty; he is required also to know what his
duty is. A man, in other words, is required to show good
judgment in regard to moral issues no less than in regard
to practical affairs. Now good judgment is no doubt in
part the result of good training, and to the extent to
which it is, its possession is one of those virtues which
Aristotle calls virtues of character. 1 But although the
formation of good judgment can be assisted by training
and education, the initial capacity for judging accurately
is a faculty implanted by nature. For good judgment is
a product of a good native intelligence and this, like a
good voice or a good eye at games, is part of our initial
vital endowment.
We must also concede to Aristotle that a good natural
endowment in the matter of intelligence can not only
be affected by environment and developed by education,
but will be favourably affected by the best environment,
will be fully developed by the best education. Our con-
. What
elusion is, thcp, that the man who is best qualified ac-
curately to estimate the probable consequences of a given
action will be one who both has a good native intelligence,
and has been brought up
in a suitable environment.
do we mean by suitable? It is impossible to
answer without begging questions. I shall return to this
1 Sce Chapter VI, p. 214. Scc Chapter IV, pp. 104, 105.