This is an attempt to explain the principles of morality in as close a relation as possible to human life. It takes account of the historical systems of ethics, of recent researches into the development of the human race, and of our present circumstances. The first Book shows how our ideas con cerning conduct and the good are influenced by social relations, individual character, and our place in the physical and animal world, and under what conditions it is possible to treat Morality as the subject of a natural science. The second Book shows that social institutions are necessary to the good life, but often react upon it injuriously. It discusses the effect upon morality of Customs, the Family, the State, Religion, and the Fine Arts, in order to understand the actual difficulties of conduct.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR THE METAPHYSICS OF NATURE Second Edition, demy Svo, cloth, price 7/6 net (post free, 7/io).
"A book which must be ranked among the most important of recent years."— Nature.
" A singularly important contribution it is to the critical and philosophic theory of our time." — Pall Mall Gazette.
PUBLISHED BY ADAM & CHARLES BLACK • SOHO S£UAR£ • LONDON, W.
DATE DUE II SPINOZA Spinoza's short treatise on d, man and his well-being B mm.