Hume1711 - 1776

“Be a philosopher; but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.”

Ethics: The Rule of the Passions -- The Slavery of

Reason

• Enlightenment philosopher: sees the scientific method as the universal key that will unlock the answers to all problems

Descriptive Project (rather than Prescriptive)

• Describes how moral principles arise and function in human life

• Anthropology/Psychology• Derives ethical terms from psychological observations (he

makes his case by referring you to your own moral feelings)

How Are We To Analyze Moral Judgments?

• Reason is used to discover truth or falsehood. It tells us what is logically necessary and what is contradictory.

• Morality: not concerned just with what is true but with what I ought to do

The Smoking Gun

• Does Reason produce moral principles by deriving them from matters of fact?

• Murder: “Examine it in all lights, and see if you can find that matter of fact, or real existence, which you call vice.”

• “You never can find it, till you turn your reflection into your own breast, and find a sentiment of disapprobation [disapproval], which arises in you, towards this action.”

The Source of Morality: Sentiment

• It is not derived from deductive or inductive operations of our reason.

• It arises from sentiment, feelings or the passions.

Metaphysics/Epistemology

• Metaphysics: Virtue & Vice are Natural• Epistemology: Empiricist: moral

approval/disapproval can only arise out of our feelings

The Bedrock of Morality: Feelings

• How do moral rules arise from this foundation?• Moral rules: 2 Sources

1. Social Utility2. Sympathy

Social Utility

• Utilitarianism• Some moral rules don’t seem to follow natural

inclinations• Such Rules are artificial, human inventions that serve

everyone’s long-term interests.

Sympathetic BenevolenceMoral Bedrock

• Feelings of approval/disapproval• General Benevolence for all humanity• Human experience refutes psychological egoism• Sympathetic Benevolence: can’t be reduced to or

explained by any other principle or motive