term 'good,' and the converse property denoted by the term 'bad.' It must, in order to establish its conclusions, investigate the truth of all such assertions, except those which assert the relation of this property only to a single existent. (2) This property, by reference to which the subject-matter of Ethics must be defined, is itself simple and indefinable. And (3) all assertions about its relation to other things are of two, and only two, kinds: they either assert in what degree things themselves possess this property, or else they assert causal relations between other things and those which possess it. Finally, (4) in considering the different degrees in which things themselves possess this property, we have to take account of the fact that a whole may possess it in a degree different from that which is obtained by summing the degrees in which its parts possess it" (p. 36). This last fact Mr. Moore designates by the name of "the principle of organic unities."
The second chapter is entitled "Naturalistic Ethics." "In this chapter," says he, "I have begun the criticism of certain ethical views, which seem to owe their influence mainly to the naturalistic fallacy—the fallacy which consists in identifying the simple notion which we mean by 'good' with some other notion. They are views which profess to tell us what is good in itself; and my criticism of them is mainly directed (1) to bring out the negative result, that we have no reason to suppose that which they declare to be the sole good, really to be so, (2) to illustrate further the positive result, already established in Chapter I, that the fundamental principles of Ethics must be synthetic propositions, declaring what things, and in what degree, possess a simple and unanalysable property which may be called 'intrinsic value' or ’goodness.' The chapter began (1) by dividing the views to be criticised into (a) those which, supposing 'good' to be defined by reference to some supersensible reality, conclude that the sole good is to be found in such a reality, and may therefore be called 'Metaphysical,' (b) those which assign a similar position to some natural object, and may therefore be called 'Naturalistic.' Of naturalistic views, that which regards 'pleasure' as the sole good has received far the fullest and most serious treatment and was therefore reserved for Chapter III: all other forms of Naturalism may be first dismissed, by taking typical examples. (2) As typical of naturalistic views, other than Hedonism, there was first taken the popular commendation of what is 'natural': it was pointed out that by 'natural' there might here be meant either 'normal' or 'necessary,' and that neither the 'normal' nor the 'necessary' could be seriously supposed to be always
