Chapter 13 Volume IV On the Effect of Utility on Approval Sentiment

The fourth volume deals with the effect of utility on the emotion of approval (there is only one article in this volume). has been noticed by everyone who has given any thought to what constitutes the essence of beauty.The conveniences of a house are as pleasant to the spectator as it is in order; and when he sees the opposite defects, it is like seeing a symmetrically placed window of a different shape, or a door not opening in the middle of the building. That was unpleasant.That any apparatus or machine, so long as it produces the desired result, imparts to the whole a certain propriety and beauty, and delights the thought of it, is so distinct that no one will overlook it.Recently, an original and popular philosopher also pointed out the reason why utility is pleasurable.This philosopher combined profound thought with great power of expression, and he had a remarkable and ingenious talent for dealing with the most profound subjects not only with very clear language but also with very vivid eloquence.The utility of any body, according to him, pleases its owner by continually giving him that pleasure or convenience which it is proper to enhance.Whenever he sees it, he is intoxicated with this pleasure; in this way the object is a constant source of satisfaction and joy to him.The spectator comprehends the master's sentiments through sympathy, and must view the object with equal pleasure.If we visit the magnificent edifices of great men, we cannot help imagining the satisfaction we would get if we were the masters of such edifices, and possessed so many ingenious and carefully designed and manufactured appliances.He also advanced similar reasons why the appearance of any object should be displeasing to both its owner and its spectators.

But this adequacy, this ingenious design of any work of art, is often valued more than what is expected of it; The value, the process of figuring out how to make it convenient or enjoyable is where all the value is, and as far as I know, that hasn't caught anyone's attention.Yet this is a frequent occurrence, and can be observed in thousands of instances of the least or most important aspects of human life. When a man enters his room and finds the chairs in the middle of the room, he will be angry with the servant, and perhaps he would rather take the trouble of rearranging them with his own hands than see them lying in such a mess all the time. leave it alone.All the convenience of this new arrangement derives from the greater convenience of clearing and freeing the floor of the room.For this convenience, he would rather suffer himself than suffer all the distresses that his lack of it might cause; for the most comfortable thing is to sit down on one of the chairs, which is when he is done with his work. likely to do.It seems, therefore, that what he needs is not this convenience, but the arrangement of furniture that brings it about.But it is this convenience that ultimately drives him to tidy up his room, giving it ample propriety and beauty.

Similarly, a watch that is slower by more than two minutes a day will be looked down upon by those who are particular about watches.He might sell it for a few guineas, and buy another watch for fifty guineas, which would not be slow a minute in a fortnight.However, the only utility of the watch is to tell us what time it is, so that we don't miss the appointment, or cause a lot of inconvenience by forgetting the agreed time.But we seldom see this man who is so particular about this mechanism more conscientiously keeping time than others, nor is he more eager than others to know the exact time of day for some other reason.It is not the mastery of time that fascinates him, but the perfection of the machinery that facilitates it.

How many people have ruined themselves by spending money on gadgets that don't work?It is not the utility that delights lovers of these gadgets, but the mechanical ingenuity that enhances it.All their pockets are stuffed with little conveniences.They devise new pockets (that are not seen on other people's clothes) in order to carry more things.They walked with a mass of knick-knacks that were no less important in weight and sometimes in value than the usual Jewish treasure chests.Some of these baubles may sometimes be of some use, but can be dispensed with at any time, and their full utility is certainly not worth the burden of toil.

Nor is it therefore merely concerned with these insignificant objects by which our actions are affected by this nature; it is often the hidden motives which concern the most serious and important matters of personal and social life. The poor man's child, whom Heaven, in his wrath, longed to punish, will envy the rich man when he begins to observe himself.He found his father's cottage afforded him so little convenience, and fancied that he could live more comfortably in a palace.He resented having to walk on foot or endure the strain of riding on horseback.He saw that rich people were almost always in carriages, and he fancied that he himself could travel comfortably in a carriage.He naturally felt lazy, and was willing to support himself as much as possible; and thought that a large retinue would save him a lot of trouble.If he had achieved all this, he thought, he could sit back contentedly, intoxicated by the bliss and tranquility of his situation.He was immersed in this sea of ​​blissful reverie.In his phantasy there floated scenes of the lives of certain higher classes, into which he threw himself in the pursuit of wealth and greatness.In order to obtain the convenience brought by all these, he suffered a lot in the first year, and in the first month of concentration, he endured more hardships and painstaking efforts than he had in his entire life when he had no wealth and status. The pain that can be suffered is even worse.He learned to excel in certain demanding positions.

Industrious and strong, he toiled day and night to gain a talent superior to that of his competitors.He then strives to display this talent in public, begging every opportunity of employment with equal diligence.To this end he courts all; he serves those whom he hates, and flatters those whom he despises.He spends his whole life in pursuing the project of enjoying some unnatural, refined tranquility which he may never be able to enjoy, at the expense of any real ease which he can have at any time, and, if he When old age gets it at last, he will find that they are in no way better than the paltry security and contentment he has given up.It was then that his days were numbered, his body was worn down by toil and disease, and his mind was filled with shame and humiliation from a thousand recollections of his wounds and defeats. Exasperated, he attributes these injuries and frustrations to the injustices of his enemies, or the treachery and ingratitude of his friends.At last he began to realize that wealth and status are just useless trinkets, which, like a toy lover's treasure chest, cannot be used to achieve our physical comfort and peace of mind; less trouble than the conveniences they could afford him.There's no real difference between them, except that the convenience that the former brings is slightly more pronounced than the latter.Palaces, gardens, ornamental sets, retinues of great men, are also objects, but their apparent convenience impresses everyone.They do not require their masters to indicate to us what constitutes their utility.We readily comprehend their utility actively, and applaud, out of sympathetic enjoyment, the satisfaction they can afford their masters.But the singularity of a toothpick, an ear pick, a nail clipper, or some other similar gadget is not so clear.The convenience they bring may be just as big, but not as dramatic.And we won't be so quick to understand the satisfaction that those who own these things feel.They are not, therefore, as legitimate objects of vanity as riches and greatness are; and thus constitute the only advantage of the latter.They more effectively satisfy unique inclinations that come naturally to human beings.To a man who dwells alone on a desert island, it may still be a question whether a palace or such minor conveniences as are commonly contained in a treasure-chest are the greatest contributors to his happiness and enjoyment.If the person lives in society, comparisons cannot indeed be made, because here, as in other cases, we are always concerned with the emotions of the spectator and not with those of the person involved, and we always consider his situation in relation to that of others. What he looks like in his eyes is not what he looks like in his own eyes.However, if we examine why the spectators view with such admiration the conditions of life of the rich and the great.We shall find that it is not so much because they think they enjoy superior ease and pleasure as because they have innumerable elegant and ingenious artifacts with which to obtain it.He does not even think that they are really happier than others; but he thinks that they have more means of happiness.It is the ingenuity with which these means achieve their intended ends that excites the admiration of the spectator.But in old age, sickness and weakness, all those empty and dull pleasures of great position fade away.To a man in this position the promise of such vain pleasures no longer entices him to those laborious pursuits.He cursed ambition deep in his heart, yearning in vain for the leisure and laziness of his youth, missing all kinds of enjoyment that would never return, and regretting that he had foolishly paid for things that could not bring him real satisfaction once he got them. sacrificed them.If the great man, deposed by decadence or sickness, presents himself to every one in such a miserable state, he looks carefully at his situation, and considers what his happiness really requires.Power and riches were then like great laborious machines of the most fine and sensitive clockwork, devised to produce petty conveniences of the flesh, which had to be kept in motion with the utmost delicacy, and No matter how careful we are, at any moment they can suddenly burst into pieces and deal a severe blow to the unfortunate occupant.They are gigantic buildings, which require a life's work to build, and though they may save the man who inhabits them from some minor inconvenience, and protect him from the cold, storms and storms of the seasons, yet , the people living inside are in constant danger of being crushed to death by their sudden collapse.They keep out the summer showers, but not the winter storms, and often expose their occupants to as much, and sometimes more than ever, anxiety, fear, and sorrow, to disease, danger, and death.

While this surly philosophy, known to everyone when sick or depressed, thus utterly belittles the great goals to which human desires aspire, when we are healthy and in good spirits, we have always been more agreeable. to look at those goals.Our imagination, which seems to be imprisoned and bound within our bodies in times of pain and sorrow, expands to everything around us in times of leisure and ease.We, then, are fascinated by the beauty and dignified arrangement of the amenities that prevail in palaces; and admire how all facilities are employed to furnish their masters with comfort, to prevent want, to satisfy want, and to entertain them in their idleness. .If we consider the actual satisfaction which all these things afford, it will always appear contemptible and dull in its own right, detached from the beauty of the arrangement by which it is promoted.But we rarely look at it with such abstract and philosophical eyes.We naturally confuse, in our imaginations, this satisfaction with the order of the universe, with its harmonious and regular motion, with the arrangement which produces it.Considered in this complex light, the pleasures of wealth and position lead us to imagine them as something important, beautiful, and noble, worthy of our efforts to acquire them.

At the same time, nature is likely to deceive us in this way.It is this deceit which constantly calls and maintains the motives of human industry.It was this deceit that first prompted man to till the land, to build houses, to found cities and states, to make discoveries and advances in all the arts and sciences.These sciences and arts have improved the living standards of human beings and made them more colorful; they have completely changed the appearance of the world, turning the virgin forests in nature into plains suitable for farming, turning the sleeping and desolate oceans into new grain depots, and changing the world. It has become a road leading to all countries on the mainland.The land is doubly fertile because of these human labors, sustaining the survival of thousands of people.It is in vain for the proud and ruthless landowner to look upon his vast lands without thinking of the wants of his fellow-men, but only to consume all the crops of the land alone.The eyes are bigger than the belly, this simple and popular proverb is most suitable for him.The capacity of his stomach was not adapted to the bottomless appetite, and it could never contain more than the stomach of the most ordinary peasant.What he cannot consume he is obliged to give to those who cook in the best way what he enjoys; to those who furnish and arrange the various trinkets and knick-knacks used by the dignitary; so that all these, by virtue of his luxury and eccentricities, share the necessities of life, if they expect his kindness It is impossible to get these things if you treat people with heart and fairness.The produce of the land at any one time supports nearly as many inhabitants as it can support.The rich choose only the most costly and desirable things from this mass of products.They consume less than the poor; though their nature is selfish and avaricious, though they seek only their own convenience, and though they employ thousands to labor for them for the sole purpose of gratifying their idle and insatiable desires, They still share with the poor in the fruits of all the improvements they have made.An invisible hand leads them to distribute almost as much the necessaries of life as the land would have made had it been equally distributed to all the inhabitants, thereby insensibly increasing the good of the community, and providing for a growing population. material.When God distributed the land to a few landowners, he neither forgot nor forsaken those who seemed to have been neglected in this distribution.The latter also enjoy their share of the total land product.In the true happiness which constitutes human life, they are in no way inferior to those who seem to greatly surpass them.In physical comfort and peace of mind all classes of men are nearly on the same level, and a beggar basking in the sun by the high road enjoys that security for which kings are fighting.

The same nature of human beings, the same love of order, the same respect for the beauty of order, art, and creation, often suffices to make people like those institutions which help to promote the welfare of society.When the patriot devotes his life to various social and political improvements, his actions are not always motivated by simple sympathy for the happiness of those who can benefit from them.It is not usually out of sympathy for postmen and coachmen that a public-spirited person sponsors the construction of roads.When the legislature establishes bounties and other incentives to promote the production of linen or cloth, it seldom acts from simple sympathy with the wearers of cheap or fine fabrics, still less from simple sympathy with the manufacturers and merchants.The perfection of policy, the extension of trade and manufactures, are noble and grand objects.Projects about them delight us, and anything that helps to promote them interests us.They have become an important part of the political system, and the wheels of the state machine seem to run more harmoniously and briskly because of them.We are delighted to see this fine and important institution brought to perfection, and we are apprehensive till any obstacle is cleared which may in the slightest disturb and hinder its proper conduct.All political laws, however, are more respected insofar as they contribute to the promotion of the happiness of those who live under their direction.That is the only use and purpose of those regulations.Yet, in the spirit of a certain institution, in a certain taste for art and invention, we sometimes seem to value the means more than the end, and desire to promote the happiness of our fellow-men rather than for the pain or suffering of our own. Any immediate feeling or feeling of joy is rather for the perfection and improvement of some fine and regular system.There are persons of sublime public-spiritedness who in other respects seldom manifest sentiments of great benevolence.

On the contrary, there are some very benevolent people who seem to have no public-spirited spirit.Everyone can find the former and the latter in cases with which he is familiar.Who could be more inhuman and more public-spirited than that famous legislator of ancient Russia?James I, king of Great Britain, on the other hand, was amiable and benevolent, with scarcely any passion for the honor or good of his country.Arouse the industriousness of that seemingly hopeless man, and describe to him the happiness of the rich and powerful, and tell him that they are generally protected from the sun and rain, seldom hungry, seldom cold, seldom Feeling tired, or missing something, is often futile.

Such meaningful admonitions had little effect on him.If you hope to succeed, you must describe to him the conveniences and arrangements of the different rooms of the magnificent mansions of the rich and powerful; you must explain to him the propriety of their equipment, and point out to him all their suites The number and rank of attendants and their different duties.If there was anything that could impress him, this was it.But all these things only protect them from the sun and rain, from hunger and cold, from want and fatigue.In the same way, if you would plant in the heart of a man who seems indifferent to the good of the state, the virtue of public good, tell him what is the greater good enjoyed by the subjects of a well-governed state; It is also often futile to try to live well, dress well and eat well.These principles generally do not make a deep impression on him.If you describe to him the great social and political system which produces all the above-mentioned benefits—if you explain to him the connection and interdependence of its various departments, their subordination to each other, and their general usefulness to the happiness of society; if you Explain to him that such a system can be introduced into his own country, what are the current obstacles preventing the establishment of such a system in his country, how these obstacles can be removed, how the various wheels of the state machine can be made to work harmoniously and smoothly, and mutually support each other. If there is no friction or obstruction between the other party's operation, you may be able to persuade him. It is almost impossible for a man to hear such talk without arousing some degree of public-spiritedness.At least temporarily, he will have the desire to remove those obstacles and let such a perfect and normal machine start.There is nothing like the study of politics—that is, of the various institutions of national government, with their respective strengths and weaknesses, the institutions of the country, the situations it faces, its interests with foreign nations, its commerce, its defense, its The efforts made under unfavorable conditions, the dangers it may encounter, how to eliminate this unfavorable condition, and how to protect it from danger, are more conducive to the development of people's enthusiasm for public welfare.Therefore, political studies of all kinds - if they are correct, reasonable and practical - are the most useful speculative work.Even the least convincing and clumsy of them is not entirely useless.They at least serve to inspire public zeal in men, and encourage them to seek ways of increasing the happiness of society. Chapter II Of the beauty which the manifestations of utility endow in man's qualities and actions, and how far this conception of beauty may be regarded as a primitive assent to the principles of man's qualities, as in the creation of art or the institutions of national government. , can be used both to promote and to hinder the happiness of individuals and societies.Qualities of prudence, justice, activity, firmness, and simplicity all present to the man himself and to everyone connected with him prospects of happiness and prosperity; The ruin of this man and the misfortune of all those who worked with him. The mind of the former has at least all the beauties that belong to the most perfect machines ever created for the most pleasing purposes; the mind of the latter has at least all the defects of the crudest and clumsiest devices. What institution of government helps to promote the happiness of mankind so much as the diffusion of wisdom and virtue?All government is but some imperfect remedy for want of wisdom and virtue.Therefore, though beauty may belong to national government because of its utility, it must belong to wisdom and virtue to a greater degree.On the contrary, what domestic policy can be as destructive and destructive as human crime?The disastrous results of bad government are only due to its inadequacy to prevent the evils caused by human wickedness. The beauty and ugliness that qualities seem to derive from their benefits or inconveniences tend in some way to strike those who consider human action and behavior in abstract and philosophical terms.When a philosopher examines why humanity is approved and cruelty is condemned, it is not always for him to form any one opinion about particular acts of humanity and cruelty, in a very definite and clear way, And generally content with the vague and indeterminate thoughts which the generic names of these qualities suggest to him.But it is only in special cases that the propriety or inappropriateness of conduct, the merit or demerit of conduct, is quite evident and discernible.Only when particular instances are identified do we clearly perceive the agreement or inconsistency between our own feelings and those of the actor, either feeling a common gratitude to the actor on the former occasion, or The occasion senses a common resentment against the actor.When we consider virtue and vice in some abstract and general manner, the qualities which excite those different passions seem to disappear for the most part, and the passions themselves become less definite and distinct.On the contrary, the happy results of virtue, and the disastrous results of vice, then seemed to rise before our eyes, and seemed to be more prominent and conspicuous than the other qualities of both. . The original and popular writer who first explained why utility makes man happy was so impressed by this notion that he ascribed all our assent to virtue to our intuition of this beauty which springs from utility.No quality, he says, can be endorsed as a virtue but that of the heart which is useful or agreeable to the man himself or to others, and no quality but that which tends to the contrary. Can be opposed as something evil.Nature, indeed, seems to regulate our sentiments of assent and disapproval so well, for personal or social convenience, that I believe that, on the strictest examination, it will be found to be the general case.Still, I assert that this opinion of utility or harm is not the first or chief cause of our approval or disapproval.No doubt these sentiments are strengthened and heightened by an intuition of beauty or ugliness which arises from its utility or harm.However, I would still say that these emotions are by their nature and nature quite different from this intuition. In the first place, because it does not seem possible that the admiration of virtue is the same emotion that we have when we admire a well-conceived building for some convenience; . Next, upon examination, it will be found that the usefulness of any temperament is seldom the first ground of our assent; the sentiment of assent always involves a sense of propriety quite different from the intuition of utility of.We can see this in all the qualities that are considered virtues.According to this classification, those qualities are initially valued for being useful to ourselves and respected for being useful to others. The qualities most useful to ourselves are, first of all, higher reason and understanding, by which we perceive the long-term consequences of all our actions, and foresee any advantage or harm which may arise from them; secondly, self-control, by which we Only then can we give up the immediate happiness or endure the immediate pain in order to obtain greater happiness or avoid greater pain at some point in the future.The combination of these two qualities constitutes the virtue of prudence, which to an individual is the most useful of all virtues. As regards the first quality considered on the previous occasion, that higher reason and understanding, are originally approved of as just, just, and exact, and not merely as useful or expedient.It is in the esoteric sciences, and especially in the higher mathematics, that the greatest and most admirable endeavors of the human mind are manifested.But the utility of those sciences is not very clear to individuals or to the public, and to demonstrate that utility requires some kind of discourse that is not always quite graspable.It was not, therefore, their utility that first made them admirable to the public.This quality is seldom maintained until it is necessary to give some answer to the reproaches of those who themselves have no interest in this remarkable invention and try to belittle its usefulness. Likewise, that self-control which we restrain our present desires, that we may more fully gratify them on another occasion, assents us in propriety as well as in utility.When we act in this way, the emotions which influence our actions do seem to coincide with those of the spectator.The onlooker does not feel the temptation of our present desires.The pleasures we enjoy in a week's time, or in a year's time, are to him as attractive as the pleasures we are enjoying now.When, therefore, we sacrifice the future to the present, our actions appear to him most absurd and presumptuous, and unable to comprehend the principles governing them.On the contrary, when we give up a present pleasure in order to obtain a greater one to come; when we appear to be as attracted to distant objects as to those immediately upon the senses, since our affections do coincide with his. , so it is impossible for him to disapprove of our conduct; and as he knows from experience that such self-control is rarely possessed by men, he will regard our actions with a greater degree of wonder and admiration.It is therefore natural for all men to have a high esteem for fortitude manifested in the practices of thrift, industry, and constant effort, though these practices are directed to no other end than the acquisition of wealth.The steadfastness of the man who acts in this way, and who not only forsakes all immediate pleasures, but endures a great physical and mental toil, for some great, though remote, advantage, must win our approval.The view he has of his own interest and happiness which seems to control his actions does indeed agree with our natural view of him.There is the most perfect correspondence between his sentiments and our own, and at the same time, a correspondence which we cannot reasonably expect, from our experience of the usual weaknesses of human nature.We therefore not only approve, but to some extent admire his conduct, and consider his conduct to be highly admirable.Only this sense of approbation and respect can support the actor in the course of such action.The pleasures we will enjoy ten years from now will have so little attraction for us, and the passions aroused by the former will naturally be so weak, compared with the strong emotions to which the latter are prone. so that the former can never be equaled by the latter, unless the former is a sense of propriety, a sense that we deserve everyone's respect and approval by acting in one way, and a sense of contempt and ridicule for our acting in another evidenced by the consciousness of the appropriate object. Humanity, justice, generosity, and public-spiritedness are among the most useful qualities to others.Where the propriety of humanity and justice resides has been shown on the previous occasion, where it was shown that our respect and approbation of those qualities depend to some extent on the agreement between the feelings of the doer and the spectator. The propriety of generosity and public-spiritedness rests upon the same foundation as that of justice.Generosity is not the same as humanity.These two qualities, which seem so closely related at first glance, are never always shared by the same person.Humanity is a woman's virtue, generosity is a man's virtue.Women, who are generally more tender than we are, are seldom so generous.The fact that women rarely make significant donations has been noted by civil law.Humanity consists only in the strong sympathy of the spectator with the sentiments of the principal parties, which causes the spectator to grieve for the sufferings of the parties, to be outraged by their injuries, and to rejoice at their good fortune. Happy.The most humane behavior requires no self-denial, no self-control, no great effort of propriety.They exist only in doing what this intense sympathy with itself prompts us to do.But it's a different story when it comes to generosity.We are never generous, except in some respects where we prefer to put others before ourselves, and sacrifice our own equals to some great and important good of some friend or superior.A man renounces his right to occupy the office of others because he thinks that their contribution makes them more qualified to occupy it--it was his ambition; It was something he thought was more important—that he had sacrificed his life, none of them acting out of humanity, or because they perceived things about others more acutely than they did about themselves.Neither of them considered two opposing interests with the natural light with which they themselves viewed them, but with the natural light with which they were viewed by the other.This success or protection of others may indeed be more attractive to every spectator than that of their own; but it is impossible for them to see it that way.Therefore, in sacrificing their own interest to this other's interest, they generally adjust their sentiments to those of the spectator, and by the effort of some noble act according to what they feel about those things , must naturally think of a third party.The soldier who lays down his life to protect the life of his officer, would perhaps feel very little if that officer's death had happened through no fault of his own; whereas a very small misfortune befalling him might stir up one. A very strong sadness.But when he endeavors to act in order to gain applause, and to make the principles of his action comprehensible to the impartial spectator, he feels that to every one but himself his own life is insignificant compared with that of the magistrate, Feeling also that when he sacrificed his own life to preserve that of his superiors, the understanding which is natural to every impartial spectator finds his action very proper and agreeable. So it is with the greater efforts of a public-spirited spirit.If a young officer sacrifices his life in order to obtain some small extension of his sovereign's dominion, it is not because the acquisition of new dominions seems to him a more worthy object than the preservation of his own life.对他来说，自己生命的价值远远超过为他所效劳的国家征服整个王国的价值。但是，当他把这两个目标加以比较时，他不是用自己看待这两个目标时天然具有的眼光，而是用他为之战斗的整个民族的眼光来看待它们。对整个民族来说，战争的胜利是至关紧要的，而个人的生命是无足轻重的。当他把自己摆到整个民族的位置上时，他立即感到，如果流血牺牲能实现如此有价值的目标，他就无论怎么浪费自己的鲜血也不过分。出于责任感和合宜感这种最强烈的天性倾向，其行为所具有的英雄主义便体现在这种对自然感情的成功抑制中。有许多可敬的英国人，处于个人的地位会因为一个畿尼的损失而不是为米诺卡民族的覆灭而深感不安。然而，如果保卫这个要塞是他们的职权范围以内的事，则他们宁愿上千次地牺牲自己的生命，也不愿由于自己的过失而让它落入敌人之手。当布鲁图一世由于他的儿子们阴谋反对罗马新兴的自由而把他们判处死刑时，如果他只考虑到自己的心情，那么他似乎为较弱的感情而牺牲了较强的感情。布鲁图自然应该痛惜自己儿子们的死亡，这种心情比罗马由于不做出这样大的惩戒而可能遭受的痛苦更为深切。但是，他不是用一个父亲的眼光，而是用一个罗马公民的眼光来看待他们。他如此深切地浸沉在后一种品质的情感之中，以致丝毫不顾他和儿子们之间的血肉关系；对一个罗马公民来说，即使是布鲁图的儿子，在同罗马帝国最小的利益一起放在一个天平的两边时， 似乎也是不屑一顾的。在这种情况下以及在其它所有这类情况下，我们的钦佩与其说是建立在效用的基础上，还不如说是建立在这些行为的出乎人们意料的、因而是伟大、高尚和崇高的合宜性的基础上。当我们开始观察这种效用时，不容置疑，它给予了这些行动一种新的美感，并由此使它们更进一步博得我们的赞同。 然而，这种美，主要通过人们的深思熟虑才能察觉出来，决不具有一开始就使这些行为受到大多数人的天然情感的欢迎的性质。 可以看到，就赞同的情感来自效用的这种美的知觉作用而论，它和其他人的情感没有任何关系。因此，如果可能的话，一个人同社会没有任何联系也会长大成人，他自己的行动仍然会因其所具有的有利或不利的倾向而使他感到适意或不愉快。他可以在谨慎、节制和良好的行动中觉察到这种美，而在相反的行为中觉察到丑恶；他可以以我们在前一场合用以看待一架设计良好的机器的那种满足， 或者以我们在后一场合用以看待一个非常笨拙而又粗陋的发明的那种厌恶和不满，来看待他自己的性格和品质。然而，由于这些概念只关涉爱好问题，并且具有这类概念的全部脆弱性和微妙性，而所谓爱好正是建立在这类概念的适当性之上，所以，它们可能不会被一个处在这种孤独和不幸境况中的人所重视。即使它们在他同社会有所联系之前出现在他面前，也决不会由于那种联系而具有相同的结果。他不会在想到这种缺陷时因内心羞愧而沮丧；也不会在意识到相反的美时因暗自得意而振奋。在前一场合，他不会因想到自己应当得到报答而狂喜；在后一场合，他也不会因怀疑自己将会得到惩罚而害怕。所有这些情感意味着一些别人的想法，他是感觉到这些情感的人的天生的法官；并且只有通过对他的行为的这种仲裁人的决断抱有的同感，他才能够想象出自我赞赏的喜悦或自我谴责的羞耻。