Sir: It seems hardly necessary to point out the fallacy
in Simon Raven's idea that (moral) qualities 'are in any case recommended to us by the canons of mere common sense,' the con- dition of the neck of many a young adolescent would soon relieve him of this deception with regard to the quality of cleanliness which he instances (2 August).
Whatever 'common sense' is it cannot be used to get round the fact that 'moral qualities' do not stand per se but only as the end products of the acceptance of a complex of ideals and ideas, i.e. there is nothing obvious about at least most moral qualities. It is for this reason that moral codes are 'truly valuable,' because they provide an easily digestible package deal for the indi- vidual. We may note that those who profess to eschew codes while adhering to common sense are probably, like Keynes's practical business- man, clinging to the most outmoded of the codes on the market.
In any case a common-sense code would not really be 'moral' in that it would say with Thrasymachus that an action is good which benefits me and which I can get away with. In other words Simon Raven's moral rule for the adolescent young is that stealing, for example, i. wrong unless I can do it without being caught! David Deacon 23 Braydon Avenue, Little Stoke Farm, Bristol
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