Звездный десант/Starship Troopers (Роберт Хайнлайн). Страница 101 из 237

Понятно

Понятно

Для того чтобы воспользоваться закладками, необходимо

Войти или зарегистрироваться

Отмена

Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо

Войти или зарегистрироваться

Отмена

Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа

Купить PRO-доступ

Отмена

Предыдущая страница

"

Mr.

Dubois

,

"

a

girl

blurted

out

,

"

but

why

?

Why

did

n't

they

spank

little

kids

when

they

needed

it

and

use

a

good

dose

of

the

strap

on

any

older

ones

who

deserved

it

--

the

sort

of

lesson

they

would

n't

forget

!

I

mean

ones

who

did

things

really

bad

.

Why

not

?

"

"

I

do

n't

know

,

"

he

had

answered

grimly

,

"

except

that

the

time-tested

method

of

instilling

social

virtue

and

respect

for

law

in

the

minds

of

the

young

did

not

appeal

to

a

pre-scientific

pseudo-professional

class

who

called

themselves

'

social

workers

'

or

sometimes

'

child

psychologists

.

'

It

was

too

simple

for

them

,

apparently

,

since

anybody

could

do

it

,

using

only

the

patience

and

firmness

needed

in

training

a

puppy

.

I

have

sometimes

wondered

if

they

cherished

a

vested

interest

in

disorder

--

but

that

is

unlikely

;

adults

almost

always

act

from

conscious

'

highest

motives

'

no

matter

what

their

behavior

.

"

"

But

--

good

heavens

!

"

the

girl

answered

.

"

I

did

n't

like

being

spanked

any

more

than

any

kid

does

,

but

when

I

needed

it

,

my

mama

delivered

.

The

only

time

I

ever

got

a

switching

in

school

I

got

another

one

when

I

got

home

and

that

was

years

and

years

ago

.

Отключить рекламу

I

do

n't

ever

expect

to

be

hauled

up

in

front

of

a

judge

and

sentenced

to

a

flogging

;

you

behave

yourself

and

such

things

do

n't

happen

.

I

do

n't

see

anything

wrong

with

our

system

;

it

's

a

lot

better

than

not

being

able

to

walk

outdoors

for

fear

of

your

life

--

why

,

that

's

horrible

!

"

"

I

agree

.

Young

lady

,

the

tragic

wrongness

of

what

those

well-meaning

people

did

,

contrasted

with

what

they

thought

they

were

doing

,

goes

very

deep

.

They

had

no

scientific

theory

of

morals

.

They

did

have

a

theory

of

morals

and

they

tried

to

live

by

it

(

I

should

not

have

sneered

at

their

motives

)

but

their

theory

was

wrong

--

half

of

it

fuzzy-headed

wishful

thinking

,

half

of

it

rationalized

charlatanry

.

The

more

earnest

they

were

,

the

farther

it

led

them

astray

.

You

see

,

they

assumed

that

Man

has

a

moral

instinct

.

"

"

Sir

?

But

I

thought

--

But

he

does

!

I

have

.

"

"

No

,

my

dear

,

you

have

a

cultivated

conscience

,

a

most

carefully

trained

one

.

Man

has

no

moral

instinct

.

He

is

not

born

with

moral

sense

.

You

were

not

born

with

it

,

I

was

not

--

and

a

puppy

has

none

.

We

acquire

moral

sense

,

when

we

do

,

through

training

,

experience

,

and

hard

sweat

of

the

mind

.

These

unfortunate

juvenile

criminals

were

born

with

none

,

even

as

you

and

I

,

and

they

had

no

chance

to

acquire

any

;

their

experiences

did

not

permit

it

.

What

is

'

moral

sense

'

?

It

is

an

elaboration

of

the

instinct

to

survive

.

The

instinct

to

survive

is

human

nature

itself

,

and

every

aspect

of

our

personalities

derives

from

it

.

Отключить рекламу

Anything

that

conflicts

with

the

survival

instinct

acts

sooner

or

later

to

eliminate

the

individual

and

thereby

fails

to

show

up

in

future

generations

.

This

truth

is

mathematically

demonstrable

,

everywhere

verifiable

;

it

is

the

single

eternal

imperative

controlling

everything

we

do

.

"

"

But

the

instinct

to

survive

,

"

he

had

gone

on

,

"

can

be

cultivated

into

motivations

more

subtle

and

much

more

complex

than

the

blind

,

brute

urge

of

the

individual

to

stay

alive

.

Young

lady

,

what

you

miscalled

your

'

moral

instinct

'

was

the

instilling

in

you

by

your

elders

of

the

truth

that

survival

can

have

stronger

imperatives

than

that

of

your

own

personal

survival

.

Survival

of

your

family

,

for

example

.

Of

your

children

,

when

you

have

them

.

Of

your

nation

,

if

you

struggle

that

high

up

the

scale

.

And

so

on

up

.

A

scientifically

verifiable

theory

of

morals

must

be

rooted

in

the

individual

's

instinct

to

survive

--

and

nowhere

else

!

--

and

must

correctly

describe

the

hierarchy

of

survival

,

note

the

motivations

at

each

level

,

and

resolve

all

conflicts

.

"

"

We

have

such

a

theory

now

;

we

can

solve

any

moral

problem

,

on

any

level

.

Self-interest

,

love

of

family

,

duty

to

country

,

responsibility

toward

the

human

race

--

we

are

even

developing

an

exact

ethic

for

extra-human

relations

.

But

all

moral

problems

can

be

illustrated

by

one

misquotation

:

Предыдущая страница

Предыдущая

Следующая

Следующая страница

Следующая страница