action necessary to attain that end. The self-conscious person is able to propose to himself, as an aim to be achieved by himself, something which he regards as worth while, and to plan and carry through the line of action by which the end will be realised.
§ 4. The Implications of Conduct: Freedom, Responsibility, Obligation, and Value. Some important consequences follow from this conception of conduct.
(1) Conduct implies freedom. This, indeed, has been assumed in all we have said about the relation of character and conduct. We simply took it for granted that a man's character expresses itself freely in his actions. Conduct could not be an index to character unless it were free. Human conduct is free, both positively and negatively. Man is free from the dominion of particular impulses and appetites. The animal is governed by his appetites and impulses, but man is emancipated from the slavery they would fain impose. Man is able, as we have seen, to consider his impulses and desires, his emotions and sentiments, in relation to his self and the comprehensive ideals which he cherishes; and he can reject, restrain, modify, confirm, or encourage them as he wills. In all his conduct man should be realising his highest individuality: his conduct is free and spontaneous.
(2) All conduct is responsible conduct. Man's moral responsibility is a consequence of his freedom. If all man's actions were mechanically produced, like those of the steam engine or electric dynamo, he could not be held accountable for them. The steam engine is not responsible for its breakdowns. The responsibility for them is shifted on to the shoulders
