Transcript Hume Lecture

Hume
1711 - 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 Utility
2. 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 Benevolence
Moral Bedrock
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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