Friday, October 5, 2007

It is by contemplating this awful record, and much more there



is which for the sake of brevity I leave unstated, that one
realizes the boon to mankind which the successful researches of
the Army Board have proved
It is by contemplating this awful record, and much more there
is which for the sake of brevity I leave unstated, that one
realizes the boon to mankind which the successful researches of
the Army Board have proved. The work of prevention, the only
one that may be considered effective when dealing with the
epidemic diseases, was entirely misguided with regard to yellow
fever until 1901: the sick were surrounded by precautions which
were believed most useful in other infectious diseases, the
attendants were often looked upon as pestilential, and so
treated, in spite of the fact that evidence from the early
history of the disease clearly pointed to the apparent
harmlessness even of the patients themselves. All this
notwithstanding, cases continued to develop, in the face of
shotgun quarantine even, until the last non-immune inhabitant
of the locality had been either cured or buried.




No defence, excuse, or palliation, can be offered for such movements;



and their triumph will safely produce all the evils which it is possible
for an enlightened people to endure
No defence, excuse, or palliation, can be offered for such movements;
and their triumph will safely produce all the evils which it is possible
for an enlightened people to endure. Our system of instruction is what
it professes to be,--a public system. As sects or parties, we have no
claim whatever upon it. A man is not taxed because he is of a particular
faith in religion, or party in politics; he is not taxed because he is
the father of a family, or excused because he is not; but he contributes
to the cause of education because he is a citizen, and has an interest
in that general intelligence which decides questions of faith and
practice as they arise. It is for the interest of all that all shall be
educated for the various pursuits and duties of the time. The education
of children is, no doubt, first in individual duty. It is the duty of
the parent, the duty of the friend; but, above all, it is the duty of
the public. This duty arises from the relations of men in every
civilized state; but in a popular government it becomes a necessity. The
people are the source of power--the sovereign. And is it more important
in a monarchy than in a republic that the ruler be intelligent,
virtuous, and in all respects qualified for his duties?




As to the stock argument, that people will pervert utility for their



private ends, Mr
As to the stock argument, that people will pervert utility for their
private ends, Mr. Mill challenges the production of any ethical creed
where this may not happen. The fault is due, not to the origin of the
rules, but to the complicated nature of human affairs, and the
necessity of allowing a certain latitude, under the moral
responsibility of the agent, for accommodation to circumstances. And in
cases of conflict, utility is a better guide than anything found in
systems whose moral laws claim independent authority.