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481 u c h a p t e r i v u Of the practical Dictates of Reason. I must begin this Chapter with observing, that not all the Actions of Men are grounded upon the Dictates, or upon Notions equivalent to the Dictates , of Reason. For our first Apprehensions, and certain Motions of the Spirits, or Imagination, sometimesalsomuscularMotions, asthewinking of the Eyes, or a sudden starting back from our Friends, seem to be effected without any Dictate of Reason;1 also, most Actions of Infants, as Comparing, Judging, &c. concerning things pleasant and hurtful, by which, nevertheless, their Treasure of Knowledge is increas’d: And, perhaps , the Desire of Good in general may be reckon’d among these. For the Author of Nature has so fram’d us, “That, in our Childhood, we, even unwillingly, perceive many things by our Senses, and firmly retain them in Memory, and judge by a spontaneous Comparison, whether some are greater than others, like or unlike, profitable or hurtful ”; but, above all, (because we are always present to our selves, and from the particular Frame of our Mind, reflecting upon it self,) “We are necessarily conscious of the Acts of our Understanding and Will, and how much we have it in our Power, to excite, and govern, certain Motions of our Body,” which are, therefore, usually call’d voluntary; and, therefore, we necessarily know by experience, “What Actions of these Faculties bring us Harm, or Benefit and Perfection,” withwhichKnowledge , Desire and Pursuit, or Aversion and Avoidance, are naturally connected . Further, we easily perceive, by a Parity of Reason, (without any 1. Barbeyrac (Traité Philosophique, p. 194, n. 1) suggests that Cumberland’s classical source for this discussion is Seneca’s De Ira, II.iv.1–2. All human Actions are not voluntary and, consequently, do not suppose practical Dictates of Reason . How the practical Dictates of Reason are form’d. 482 chapter iv other Guide than Nature,) “That the like, both Advantages and Disadvantages , accrue to, and are perceiv’d by, other Beings also, as far as they resemble us, either in Mind, or Body, orboth.” Hencewedrawsome Conclusions, concerning Actions acceptable to God, but many more, concerning such as are advantageous, and disadvantageous to Men. When we have attain’d to a Maturity of Reason, we take into Consideration the whole of our Life, or the whole future exercise of all our Powers; and, because a greater Number of Actions, probably future,and also of good Effects, which we hope for from thence, presents itself now at once to our Mind, than formerly; and a longer Train of Events,which are to succeed in order, and mutually depend upon one another, is contemplated by the Mind, now come to a ripeness of Judgment: Therefore the Mind calls in, to the Assistance of the Memory, not single Words only, but Propositions, distinctly exhibiting the Connexion of our Actions of all Kinds, with their natural Effects.ThesePropositions arecalled Practical, nor is it necessary, that they should be pronounc’d intheForm of a Gerund, “This, or that, ought to be done,” as some Schoolmen teach; because that Fitness, which is express’d by a Gerund, wants Explanation, which is to be fetch’d, either from the necessaryConnexion of theMeans with the End, or from the Obligation of a Law. The Obligation of Laws is not yet to be suppos’d known by those, who are in quest of their Original . And the necessary Connexion, between the Means and the End, is sufficiently express’d, in the Connexion of them, as of Causes, with their design’d Effects. Moreover, as we approach Manhood, it is natural for us, to compare, with one another, the Powers of several Causes, to produce the like Effects , as also the several Degrees of Perfection of those Effects, fromwhich Comparison we form a Judgment, that this is greater, orless than,orequal to, that. Hence, for example, we conclude, “That some of those Actions, which are in our Power, can contribute more than others, or most of all, to our own Happiness, and that of others.” Such kind of practical Propositions , I call comparative Dictates of Reason. It is not necessary for us, who only inquire into the Formation of the Laws of Nature, to assert, that such Dictates, even after we know that they have the Force of Laws, do always determine Men to Action; it is [18.191.223.123] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 23:29 GMT...

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