Project Gutenberg 2005-04-04 Public domain in the USA. 109 Besant, Annie 1847 1933 Besant, Annie Wood Wood, Annie The Basis of Morality Produced by Jonathan Ingram, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. "The Basis of Morality" by Annie Besant is a philosophical treatise written in the early 20th century. This work examines the foundations of ethics and moral principles, focusing on the interplay between revelation, intuition, utility, evolution, and mysticism as potential bases for morality. Besant seeks to explore how these concepts shape our understanding of right and wrong and offers insights into the moral dilemmas faced by individuals and societies. In the book, Besant critically analyzes different proposed foundations of morality, arguing against the sufficiency of revelation due to its unprogressive nature and the fixed rules it embodies. She discusses the limitations of intuition, as variations in individual consciences can lead to conflicting moral judgments. Besant then introduces the concept of utility, suggesting that morality should be based on the greatest happiness for the greatest number, yet points out the challenges that arise from this approach. Ultimately, she advocates for an evolutionary perspective on morality, asserting that moral principles must adapt to the evolving understanding of human relations and consciousness. The work delves deep into the nuances of ethical thought, providing a comprehensive analysis of morality's basis in human experience and the natural laws of life. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 52.5 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Theosophy BP Text Category: Philosophy & Ethics 84628 2025-08-06T14:31:32.775426 text/html 81536 2020-12-14T09:06:43 text/html 99966 2025-08-06T14:31:36.696386 application/epub+zip 99461 2025-08-06T14:31:34.416486 application/epub+zip 99461 2025-08-06T14:31:33.322418 application/epub+zip 200529 2025-08-06T14:31:38.407396 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 187845 2025-08-06T14:31:36.098400 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 162016 2022-09-07T22:23:52.562775 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 74897 2025-08-06T14:31:32.448473 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 74771 2020-12-14T09:06:43 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18070 2025-08-06T14:31:38.539420 application/rdf+xml 13331 2025-08-06T14:31:33.820489 image/jpeg 3595 2025-08-06T14:31:33.579397 image/jpeg 30309 2020-12-14T09:06:43 application/octet-stream application/zip 28532 2020-12-14T09:06:43 application/octet-stream application/zip 96105 2025-08-06T14:31:32.784402 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia