Final Part 1- David Hume: Morals #10

Contact is the only way in which you learn about something. Someone must tell you about, or show you something in order for you to become familiar with it. Whether it be from a book, documentary, a seminar, or other methods, you don’t know something until it is presented to you, and typically it is conveyed in a certain light. Many people form opinions based on how those around them react to a topic and emotions. David Hume discusses how morals stem from this same type of situation.

David Hume believed that morals stem from your emotions and not through a rational thought process. Hume said, “It is not reason which is the guide of life, but custom.” That how you respond to something tends to stem from how others have responded to the same or similar events. He said that there are specifically three characters that play into his idea. These characters consist of the agent, the receiver, and the spectator. Each character receives the action in different ways and is influenced accordingly. This theory was developed based on other theories of earlier philosophers. In this dynamic the agent is the person who performs the action in question, the receiver is the person who is impacted by the action, and the spectator is whoever observes this action. The agent is the one who sets the scenario by performing either a malicious or kind-hearted act. The receiver then feels either hurt or happy based on this action, which impacts how the spectator perceives the action.

Hume’s theory suggests that two attributes control all actions. Either a virtuous attribute or a vicious attribute contribute to the action performed by the agent. The difference between the two is what causes the receiver to either feel positively or negatively. Which then cause the spectator to sympathize and feel as the receiver does. Hume expresses that these attributes are natural, meaning you either have them or you don’t. In contrast, there are other attributes that he considers artificial, meaning they are developed by others impact. He states that there are four types that all attributes fall into, including those useful to others, those useful to oneself, those that are liked by others, and those that are liked by oneself.

David Hume’s theory on morals was probably impacted by his childhood. Hume was raised by his mother after his father died when Hume was two. However, Hume did have an older brother who he went with to Edinburgh University. Hume began studies at Edinburgh around the age of ten, studying many subjects including philosophy. Hume became exposed to many ideas at an extremely impressionable time of his life which explains his devotion to knowledge. Which made him into the man who questioned morals and how they should be viewed. These views also reflect in his religious views. David Hume said, “A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”

Source: http://www.iep.utm.edu/hume/#H7