ABSTRACT
Secular moral philosophy abandoned the religious postulates, but held to the method originally in vogue. Even empiricism was no exception in this respect; it asserted the principle of self-love or general utility, it did not do so on the basis of a systematic induction. With all the diversity among the ethical views of philosophers, there is little variation, even during long periods of time, in men’s judgments as to what ends shall be called moral. It is usual to state that the first end which a man seeks in his own behalf should be that of self-preservation. The individual is required to preserve his own life in order to act for social and humanitarian ends, or for other individual ends. There are two of these individual ends which are to be indirectly reached through self-preservation, namely, self-satisfaction and self-perfection. The ultimate end of human morality is the moral ideal, and that its immediate end is the progressive perfection of humanity.
