A more ludicrous mistake cannot be conceived than that of taking the ideal for the fact, the wish for the deed, in matters touching4 the social institutions. Thus the term “vocational guidance” is often used, as if the occupations of the majority of men already answered to what is implied in the idea of a vocation3 as if, for instance, industrial labor5 in a factory were a “vocation” into which the young only needed to be guided, whereas guidance means, in this case, being directed into some mechanical occupation not already overcrowded, or turned into other unvocational occupations when they happen not to be over-filled. But what is true of monotonous6, mechanical labor in factories is true in a greater or less degree of all human occupations. None of them at least are as yet vocations in the highest sense.
I dwell on this because, in describing the vocation as the third term in the series, I would not have the reader imagine that this third term exists in any adequate manner. Rather is it to be the task of what is often loosely261 called “social reform” to create the ethical7 series,—not only the third term (the vocation), but the whole series from beginning to end, the family, the school, the state, the international society, the ideal religious society. The phrase “social reform” is strictly8 correct only when used comprehensively in this way. To confine its usage to the more equable repartition of wealth, or to changes in economic conditions is unwarrantably to narrow its signification. Social reform is the reformation of all the social institutions in such a way that they may become successive phases through which the individual shall advance towards the acquisition of an ethical personality.
In sketching9 the ideals of the different vocations, I have to consider in what way each contributes to the formation of an ethical personality. There is an empirical side to each vocation. Every vocation satisfies some one or more of the empirical human needs; but in the very act or process of doing so, it ought, in order to deserve the name of a vocation, to satisfy also a spiritual need, to contribute in a specific way toward the formation of a spiritual personality.74 Agriculture furnishes food. The different trades minister to a great variety of wants. The scientist extends our knowledge of nature. With this empirical aspect of the vocations, however, I am not here concerned. A scientific classification of the vocations is not a task to which I need address myself. My task is an ethical classification of the vocations.262 As this has never been undertaken, the first attempt is difficult and perforce provisional.
I outline my topics as follows:
1. The theoretical physical sciences (including mathematics) considered from the point of view of the specific way in which the ethical personality may be developed by those who pursue them.
2. The practical counterparts of the theoretical sciences, e.g., engineering, and the industrial arts in so far as they depend on and illustrate10 and use principles and methods furnished by science. Work in factories, mines, and also in the fields, is to be regarded as the executive side of theoretical science.
3. The historical sciences, those which have to do with mentally reproducing the life of the human race in the past, including history proper, philology12, arch?ology, etc.
4. The vocation of the artist.
5. The vocation of the lawyer and the judge.
The vocation of the statesman.
The vocation of the religious teacher.
The three last mentioned are classed together as educational vocations, that is, as vocations which, in respect to their highest significance, are branches of the pedagogy of mankind, having for their object to educate the human race; the ethical object of the lawyer being to educate society in the idea of justice; of the statesman to educate society in the idea of the state; of the religious teacher to educate society in the idea of the spiritual universe.
This conception of the lawyer, the politician, etc., as263 primarily educators, is a point to which particular attention is directed. The significance of it will appear further on. I shall now indicate in bare outline what I conceive to be the specific contribution of the vocations mentioned to the formation of a spiritual personality.
Science
Conspicuously13 important in this connection is the question whether and by what means the pursuit of the physical sciences can be linked up to the supreme14 spiritual end of man. The scientist may develop into a great thinker in the course of comprehensive and intricate investigations15, but he does not thereby16 necessarily develop into a personality. His mind will become in this way a mirror of the orderly procession of nature’s phenomena17. He will be the accurate recorder of what happens, the knowing spectator of the play, whose eye recognizes the actors, the forces, beneath their disguises. The pursuit of knowledge of this kind for the sake of knowledge, or it may be for the sake of exercising the faculty18 of cognition, represents the purely19 scientific conception of the aim of science. Whatever moral qualities are exacted of the scientist, such as accuracy or intellectual veracity20, self-abnegation, scorn of mere21 vulgar pecuniary22 reward or celebrity23, and at least a provisional disregard of the practical benefits to be derived24 by mankind from scientific discovery—all these fine traits of character are prized as subordinate to the strictly scientific object. The ethical character of the man himself is not regarded as the supreme end to be fostered by his264 scientific occupation, but as instrumental to his occupation the aims of which are said to be purely impersonal25.
There is thus a scientific conception of the aim of science; on the other hand, there is an ethical conception of it. The former points in the direction of the indefinite extension of knowledge which never embraces a totality of the knowable, never reaches a limit, even in idea. The latter points to the infinite, not to the indefinite, sets up an ideal of the infinite as the goal, takes the man out of the flux26, centralizes his individuality into a personality by relating him to the infinite, not as the mere spectator and scribe of nature, but through his action or other potential spiritual beings like himself.
The scientist, in brief, like every one else, becomes a personality by eliciting27 the potential spiritual nature in other human beings. But be it noted28 that he is to perform this task as a scientist. His particular occupation is to be the means of producing a particular spiritual result in others as well as in himself, and by this means his occupation is to be converted into a vocation.
How? Through partial success and frustration29. Partial success in the case of a scientist means for one thing, increased mental grasp, the power to hold before the mind ever more and more complex relations,—a faculty supremely30 serviceable in mastering complexities31 of relation in the economic, in the political spheres, in the sphere of international intercourse32, in the sphere of the social relations in general, and wherever the ethical principle has to be applied33. The scientific occupation trains powers which are to be exercised so as to illuminate34 obscurities in the ethical field.
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The frustration which the scientist meets with when he reflects in thoroughgoing fashion on the business he has in hand is the inevitable35 realization36 that Alles Verg?ngliche ist nur ein Gleichniss, that the sphere of the finite in which he labors37, though capable of indefinite extension, is forever incapable38 of being rounded out to a true infinity39, and hence that the complete unification of the manifold (in which alone the reality-producing functions of the mind can find repose40 and ultimate satisfaction), can never be carried out in the manifold of juxtaposition41 and sequence with which, as a physical scientist, he deals. He will thus be led to face in thought the limits of what is finitely attainable42, not only by him as an individual scientist, but by physical science in general. And in proportion as his spiritual nature is energetic it will then assert itself all the more resiliently after this defeat, and turn in a new direction, and towards another kind of truth, the truth which is discovered in the realm of will, in the sphere of intercourse with fellow human beings. The prop11?deutic result of science with respect to ethical personality is the training of the more complex mental faculties43. The positive result following the frustration is the new turn toward the spiritual, the escape from the spell wherewith the physical world enchains the mind, the dissipating of the widespread illusion that the truths of physical science are the only kind of truth, the more determined44 setting of the face towards a different kind of truth. The scientist, in brief, is to travel along the paths of the finite in order to arrive and stand at the gate of the infinite.
I have said that the boon45 of personality is gained in266 intercourse with others, through the influence which we exert on others. How does the scientist as a scientist spiritually affect others? The great specific service, as I have just said, which he is to render is to destroy the illusion that the material world is a finality. And it is just he, the scientist, who works most successfully in the field of physical truth who must assist the rest of us in escaping from the spell to which we are all subject. He is the one, he who more than others succeeds in unifying46 the manifold of juxtaposition and sequence, to whom we look to liberate47 others as well as himself from the deceptive48 belief that the reality-producing functions of the human mind can be satisfied in the temporal and spatial49 manifold. Not from the tyro50, not from the purveyor51 of “popular science” can we hope to learn the profoundest lessons as to the incapacity of physical nature to appease52 the spirit of man. It is from the familiar friend of nature, from one more deeply read than we are in her secrets, that we are to obtain this great instruction, to receive this boon.
Ethics53 is a science of reactions. Each vocation reacts upon the others. The general reaction of science I have mentioned. In addition the work of the scientist reacts upon agriculture, industry, etc. The industrial arts, as has been stated, are to be regarded as the executive auxiliaries54 of science, receiving from it the knowledge of the uniformities of nature, and in turn setting for science new problems by attention to which scientific theory is advanced.
The relations of science to art also need to be considered at greater length than is possible here. I have267 in mind inquiries55 into the scientific basis of music like those of Helmholtz, the scientific theory of color and the like, and also detailed56 studies of the return gift which art confers on science, especially the value to the scientist of that cultivation57 of the imagination which is gained by the contemplation and study of works of art. There are different kinds of imagination: the purely artistic58, the scientific, the mechanical imagination, the ethical imagination. The function of the imagination in advancing science has been discussed by Tyndall and others, but the subject is far indeed from being exhausted59.
The scientist then may be defined as one who stands in reciprocal relations to all other departments of human interest and activity, who gives to each from his specific standpoint as a scientist, and receives from each, from religion,75 from art, from the practical vocations, etc. Ideally speaking, every man participates in all the principal interests and activities of the human mind. Every man is something of an artist, something of a practical or executive worker, scientist, religious being. But in each individual the different interests are colored by his special pursuit, and the influence he wields60 in return is modified in the same fashion.76
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There are three great tasks that occupy human life:
1. To build our finite world (science and its adjuncts).
3. To strive to realize the spiritual relation in human intercourse (ethics and religion).
This discussion of science affords me the opportunity to give an exact definition of the word “instrumental” as I use it. And the word “instrumental” is of decisive importance as to the entire ethical conception of life. Instrumental in what sense? The finite ends of man are to be the means used in the pursuit of the infinite end. But in what manner are they to be the means? To be a cheerful world-builder, to take an active and whole-hearted interest in the improvement of material conditions, in political reforms, in the embellishment of earthly life—how is it possible to do this and at the same time keep the spiritual end in view as the supreme end?
Christianity in its pristine62 form,77 abandons the task in dismay. Instead of seeking action in the finite world as a means, it counsels renunciation and withdrawal63. Modern social reform movements, on the other hand, are devoted64 to finite ends, more or less ignoring the spiritual. How is it possible to work in the world, in the finite sphere, for an end beyond the finite? The answer, as I have shown in the case of science (and the269 same applies to all other vocations), is to be found in the words “partial success and frustration.” The finite, lesser65 ends, are means to the highest end in so far as we are partially66 able to embody67 the spiritual relation in the finite world, and in so far as the inevitable defeat of our effort to do so serves to implant68 in us the conviction of the reality of the infinite ethical ideal.
What is the relation of science to the ethical end? We are seeking to link up the world to spirit. Along what line can the connection be marked out in the case of science? Science is instrumental in founding more securely the empirical basis of self-respect, inasmuch as it gives to man to a certain extent a sense of mastery over nature. With the help of science he feels himself no longer the helpless sport of nature’s forces.
The training in complex thinking afforded by science is favorable to the ethical reformer. Science also incidentally encourages the virtues70 of veracity, and the like.
Knowledge for knowledge’s sake cannot be the final end of the pursuit of science, since the world of space and time with which science deals is not only not as yet rationalized but is not ultimately rationalizable.
While in all the respects just mentioned the pursuit of science is indirectly71 instrumental to the spiritual end—instrumental to the instrument—it is directly instrumental to it in so far as, at the hand of the supreme scientist, man is conducted through the finite as far as the gate of the infinite.
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1
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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vocations
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| n.（认为特别适合自己的）职业( vocation的名词复数 )；使命；神召；（认为某种工作或生活方式特别适合自己的）信心 | |
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vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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ethical
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| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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sketching
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| n.草图 | |
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illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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philology
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| n.语言学；语文学 | |
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conspicuously
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| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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celebrity
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| n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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flux
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| n.流动；不断的改变 | |
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eliciting
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| n. 诱发, 引出 动词elicit的现在分词形式 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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complexities
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| 复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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juxtaposition
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| n.毗邻，并置，并列 | |
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42
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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unifying
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| 使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一 | |
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liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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deceptive
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| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
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spatial
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| adj.空间的，占据空间的 | |
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50
tyro
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| n.初学者；生手 | |
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51
purveyor
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| n.承办商，伙食承办商 | |
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52
appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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53
ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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54
auxiliaries
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| n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员 | |
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55
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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56
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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59
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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60
wields
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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63
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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67
embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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68
implant
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| vt.注入，植入，灌输 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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71
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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