Religion and Science
7. The ‘Religion’ of the Modern Age
~ 128 ~
expressed the opinion that the moral principle
has its basis in our nature. In other terms,
human beings possess innate tendencies to
selfishness, meanness, or pity (p. 125).
This supposition is also absurd. Although there are
certain causes for the tendencies to commit crimes,
they are purely peripheral, and their real reason is
man’s own decision to launch himself on this
course. Without control over decision-making, the
criminal mentality will never be eradicated. For this
reason it is futile to expect that moral offenders and
criminals may be cured of their deficiencies in
hospitals, just as other patients are treated for
physical diseases. Crime is an act of will, whereas
diseases are a material happening. Our surgeons
can perform surgery upon matter, but they cannot
operate upon the human will. They cannot,
therefore, control it.
The writer himself is forced to admit that the
complexity of life’s issues will always place a true
science of man beyond the reach of humanity. This
avowal notwithstanding, he hopes (we think, in
vain) that man will be able to attain to this. He says:
