Hume and the Foundation of Morality

David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, delves into the foundations of morality. He divides the origins of morality into two possible sources, reason and sentiment. He defines reason as that facility or quality or action that "can instruct us in the tendency of qualities and actions, and point out their beneficial consequences to society (Hume, 1983, p. 82). He defines sentiment as the emotional disposition that guides reason. In example after example Hume makes it clear that reason should be regarded as a qualitative tool that helps us define our world. Without sentiment as the spur, reason would not be employed effectively (Hume, 1983).

Hume describes how reason and sentiment differ in societal use, thus illuminating their placement in defining morality. As reason seems to garner center stage in law, mathematics, and the sciences, Hume illustrates how reason may act as the instrument of an applied morality, but of itself is cold and intellectually remote. Using induction, Hume takes the concept of justice as applied to society, and points out with great specificity how justice, interpreted by law and reason, is only as affective as the human agency behind it. Hume states that single instances of justice are often destructive, and society only benefits from observance of a general rule (Hume, 1983). In other words, the reasoning behind a certain law ceases to be a living, breathing, rep

. . .
nalogy, the sides and bottom of the vessel can persist ad infinitum, without direction, once built. Only a rudder, guided by the sentiment to move right or left, into the current or out, can assist in navigating the boat. Or as Hume puts it: "It is requisite a sentiment should here display itself, in order to give preference to the useful above the pernicious tendencies" (Hume, 1983, p. 83). Hume goes further in culling out sentiment as the foundation of morality. Again, in the matter of crime, if reason is a measure of specifics, or an explanation of the relationship between concepts or things, then by deduction the reader must understand sentiment to be the motivating factor of blame or action (Hume, 1983). Hume concludes that those who insist that reason is the foundation of morality, as one would insist that adhering to a specific recipe will inevitably result in the correct result, are engaged in a circular argument. If, morality is composed of the relationship of actions to the rule of right, what then is the rule of right? If moral relationships are determined by comparison to the actions of a rule, and that rule is determined by considering the moral relationship between objects, from where is that judgment made?
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hume Aristotle, Principles Morals, Using Hume's, Furthermore Hume, Comparisons Hume's, Praise Blame, hume 1983, According Hume, reason sentiment, sentiment reason, foundation morality, Ed Ostwald, Schneewind Ed, sentiment hume, praise blame, hume concludes, ostwald 1962, sentiment hume 1983, relationship objects, Publishing Company, sentiment foundation morality, hume's explanations, hume 1983 hume, explanations sentiment reason, hume 1983 84,
Approximate Word count = 1735
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Hume and the Foundation of Morality