ABSTRACT
Whenever civilisation reached a certain point thinkers arose who attempted to base morality upon rational principles. Such men can be found in China throughout her earlier history; in Greece and Rome between the fifth century b.c. and the rise to power of Christianity, and in Protestant Europe after the Reformation. It seems natural to expect that the ideas of such men will show closer agreement than moral codes attributed to supernatural sources. And in fact they do. Confucius and the Greek philosophers, Kant, the Utilitarians and Sidgwick, all wanted men to behave after much the same pattern. Philosophers are fond of Absolutes and Ultimates and tend to regard Particulars as unsatisfactory until they have been resolved into some impressive Universal. They demand, for instance, a Purpose for Life which is somehow to express and sum up the very various purposes which occupy, inspire and sometimes content individuals.
