He is disappointed at finding that Dugald Stewart, who made applications of the law of association and appreciated its powers, held back from, and discountenanced, the attempt of Hartley to resolve the Moral Sense, styling it ’an ingenious refinement on the Selfish system,’ and representing those opposed to himself in Ethics as deriving the affections from ‘self-love.’  He repeats that the derivation theory affirms the disinterestedness of human actions as strongly as Butler himself; while it gets over the objection from the multiplication of original principles; and ascribes the result to the operation of a real agent.

In replying to Brown’s refusal to accept the derivation of Conscience, on the ground that the process belongs to a time beyond remembrance, he affirms it to be a sufficient theory, if the supposed action resembles what we know to be the operation of the principle where we have direct experience of it.

His concluding Section, VII., entitled General Remarks, gives some farther explanations of his characteristic views.  He takes up the principle of Utility, at the point where Brown bogled at it; quoting Brown’s concession, that Utility and virtue are so related, that there is perhaps no action generally felt to be virtuous that is not beneficial, and that every case of benefit willingly done excites approbation.  He strikes out Brown’s word ‘perhaps,’ as making the affirmation either conjectural or useless; and contends that the two facts,—­morality and the general benefit,—­being co-extensive, should be reciprocally tests of each other.  He qualifies, as usual, by not allowing utility to be, on all occasions, the immediate incentive of actions.  He holds, however, that the main doctrine is an essential corollary from the Divine Benevolence.

He then replies specifically to the question, ’Why is utility not to be the sole end present to the mind of the virtuous agent?’ The answer is found in the limits of man’s faculties.  Every man is not always able, on the spur of the moment, to calculate all the consequences of our actions.  But it is not to be concluded from this, that the calculation of consequences is impracticable in moral subjects.  To calculate the general tendency of every sort of human action is, he contends, a possible, easy, and common operation.  The general good effects of temperance, prudence, fortitude, justice, benevolence, gratitude, veracity, fidelity, domestic and patriotic affections, may be pronounced with as little error, as the best founded maxims of the ordinary business of life.

He vindicates the rules of sexual morality on the grounds of benevolence.