The author examines morality as conduct shaped by ideals and social environment, distinguishing inherited character from superficial conventional morals. He argues character is strongly hereditary and that apparent moral improvements often reflect social pressures rather than permanent change. Reviewing historical evidence and industrial-era social conditions—crowded dwellings, unhealthy trades, economic corruption, and a flawed justice system—he contends these environments impede genuine moral development. Drawing on evolutionary ideas, he analyzes natural selection, mental agency, heredity, and environment to propose a selective social mechanism that, if coupled with institutional reforms, could initiate sustained moral progress.