G. A. Johnston

“ Every child should be encouraged to form a worthy ambition: every one should be reminded that there is some position in life, however humble, which he will fill, and that his vocation consists in performing faithfully the duties of his station in society. It should be his ambition to organise all his desires and consecrate all his energies to the service of his vocation. ”

“ When a man's desires are organised in subordination to his self, with the system of its purposes, they constitute his ambition. A man's ambition is simply the system of his desires and purposes. Nothing organises a life so effectively and worthily as a noble ambition. If we wish for an example of the systematising power of a great ambition, we need only look at the way in which all St. Paul's activities and desires were organised in accordance with his noble ambition. A worthy ambition is within the reach of all. ”

“ The answer is that objects are always desired in reference to the self. They become objects of desire only because they have some value for the self that desires them. Hence what has value for one man may have none for another. Men desire only those objects on which they set some value, and they set a value on them because they promise a satisfaction of the self. ”

“ When we say that a man's desires are evil, we do not mean that his actual mental processes are evil, but that the objects to whose attainment those processes are directed are, in relation to himself, evil. Desire is always for some object, and it is the goodness or badness of that object in relation to the self that makes the desire good or evil. ”

“ As the child's character develops, it gradually comes to control its impulses. It reflects, in a rudimentary way, on the alternatives when two impulses affect it, and it deliberates whether to obey the one or the other. Thus its conduct becomes consistent, instead of being at the mercy of everything it happens to see and every thought or mental image that occurs to it. The possibility of rational conduct depends on the control of impulse. The child has been burnt when it has gone too near the fire, in obedience to its impulse to satisfy its curiosity. ”

“ Desires may be regarded, at least from one standpoint, as developed impulses. As developed impulses, they differ in two respects from mere impulses, (a) When we act on impulse, the end that we aim at is not usually clearly present to us. In purely impulsive behaviour we are impelled in a certain direction without clearly knowing why. On the other hand, when we desire, we know the end we wish to attain, and we definitely desire something, (b) As we have seen, impulses are isolated and temporary. If an impulse be restrained, it disappears. ”

“ The instinct of pugnacity gives rise to the impulse to strike. Again, the instinct of curiosity immediately prompts the child to explore with its hands the object that excites its interest. Or the instinct will drive the child to investigate the fire, until a sharp lesson teaches it that some impulses must be restrained. In every case impulse is intimately connected with instinct. Impulsive behaviour may be defined as instinct in action. An impulse is the executive aspect of an instinct. ”

“ So far we have been following common usage in speaking of "good desires" and "evil desires." But these phrases conceal an important distinction, which must now be explained. When we speak of "good desires," we are apt to confuse two meanings of the word desire. Desire properly means the actual process of desiring. ”

“ As the child grows up, his desires become less capricious. He comes to have some idea why he desires things. But still things are desired largely on their own account. The child does not take large views, and rarely has comprehensive aims. Yet, even when his aims are very limited, his desires naturally become organised with reference to them. Take the case of education. The young child desires to know his lesson, in order to "get top" of the class. This is certainly a very limited end, and in the young child it may be the only end of his desire. ”

“ Impulses may have to be controlled in this way; but desires are not so isolated as impulses, and we control desires most effectively not by holding in those which are evil, but by strengthening those that are socially valuable and giving rein to them.
If the child's desires are good, then they should by all means be confirmed and encouraged. There is a natural selection among desires, but if the desires are left to themselves, the fittest will not always survive. The moral educator must throw all his weight on the side of the good desires. ”

“ If it knows this, it is able to reflect, in a rudimentary way, and to dismiss the impulse to explore the fire, not because it has been over-mastered by a stronger impulse, but because it has been controlled by reason. ”

“ Desires should be selected. It is a great mistake to think that all desires should be restrained. Sometimes we are told that morality consists in suppressing our desires and being content to see the world that it is good. The Stoics tell us that we should acquiesce, with passive contentment, in any lot which fortune has seen fit to assign to us. Desires, they say, are mischievous, and they should be destroyed. But this is quite wrong. Every child has a myriad desires. They cannot all be satisfied, and it is not well that they should be. But these desires should not be suppressed wholesale. ”

“ Offer two apples of different sizes to a young child, and he will at once take the larger one. [1] The impulse simply exerts itself without let or hindrance. The frank impulsiveness of the child is often very attractive. But impulsive behaviour which would be charming in the child might be detestable in the adult. We say that the adult ought to be able to control his impulses.
Impulses are isolated. There is no continuity between one impulsive action and another. Impulsive behaviour is stimulated simply by the needs and interests of the moment. ”

“ Incidentally we may note that the reason why all men desire money is that money is potentially all that money can buy. Money is a standard of value because money can be turned into many of the objects which men desire. ”

“ In these ways he is organising his desires with reference to some relatively permanent and comprehensive aim. The great purpose of moral education is to encourage the organisation of desires under some worthy end. Right desires are as important for the child as true knowledge. It has been said, and with much truth, that the great aim of all education is to teach men and women to desire the right things. ”

“ Impulse and Instinct. We have seen that instincts lead to certain types of action. The pugnacious instinct, for example, is responsible for the readiness of the normal boy to fight on the slightest provocation, or on none at all. ”

“ Hence there is nothing stable or constant about impulsive behaviour. The uncertainty and capriciousness of impulses become very evident when they conflict. For example, a young child is set on the floor on the other side of the room from its mother and father, who are sitting on either side of the fire. For fun the father tries to attract the child to come to him, and the mother seeks to entice it to come to her. ”

“ He can point out that certain desires are inconsistent with other more comprehensive desires, and therefore should not be satisfied. As we grow older we naturally and unconsciously organise our desires. The character of saint or sinner depends on the fact that their desires have been organised in sub-ordination to some comprehensive good or bad end. The infant's desires are at first little more than impulses, and they are aroused by everything he hears and sees. They are comparatively isolated, and their objects are desired for themselves and not with a view to any more comprehensive end. ”

“ It may repress the former impulse simply because its dread of being burnt is stronger than its curiosity. In this case one impulse has overcome the other. But the child cannot be said to control its impulses until it knows what the fire is, and why it should not approach too close to it. ”

“ But he soon grows to desire to "get top" in order to satisfy the more comprehensive end of getting a prize. It is often remarkable how such a relatively restricted aim as this may organise the child's desires and activities. He will himself curb his desire for play in order to prepare his home lessons. ”

“ Impulses do not persist long at the same time, though they may recur again and again. But desires are relatively permanent. If an end that is desired is comprehensive enough, the desire for it may last a life-time. Of course, desires vary in their permanence. Many of our desires are quite capricious. But, on the whole, desires are more permanent and consistent than impulses.
Desires, like impulses, may conflict. Usually a desire for a comprehensive end is opposed by a transient and isolated desire. A student may desire to pass a certain examination. ”

“ Now the child is very apt, next time apples are offered to it, to pass them to others before helping itself, because it knows that they will take the smaller ones' and thus the big one will be left for it. ”