Hume’s Empirical Morality: A Foundation in Human Nature
Hume
Sentiment and morality.
Can you have a science of morality? Is it possible to free it from the religious constraints and find a basis independent of revelation, a foundation in human nature and its capabilities?
We seek a separate basis of religion. On the one hand, religious beliefs have led to wars and autos da fe. In addition, they can not form the basis for a coherent moral.
From S. XVI, scientists and thinkers are confronted with the religion and seek security in knowledge, and raises the rationalism and empiricism.
Descartes uses geometry as a model, and seeks to develop an ethic based on premisses and a deductive process. However, the empiricist Francis Bacon described the deductive method ineffective. And introducing the inductive method, which proposes to eliminate prejudices derived from education, opinion and authority. Newton science applies to the empirical methods of observation and experimentation. In ethics, Shaftesbury seeks to ground ethical principles about themselves without recourse to religion, or external to the individual elements. The roots of morality are found in human nature itself. What is morally good is something we feel.
In this context,
David Hume condemned any religion and dogmatism, and want to show the instability of religious beliefs and eliminate the bad influence they have on humans. With the influence of the inductive method and observation, Hume tries to do the same in the field of human sciences, and after a study of human nature, makes a moral empirical science, and rejects any system of ethics that is not founded in the facts and observation. The Treaty of human nature and in research on moral principles applied study of morality, without attempting to present a moral, or say how it should be the moral, describes how moral judgments are made.
Morale will address moral judgments, and according to the philosophers of other times responding to the foundation of morality is on the right. Rational judgments are of two types, analytical and synthetic, are the moral judgments belong to one of these two types?
Are they analytical?
The concept of lying does not follow deductively that is bad, it can happen that the opposite is true. And that trial is still not the act of not lying. There is thus a deductive trial.
Are the factual foundation of morality? The lawsuits describe phenomena indeed, tell us what it is, or what is likely to be. While moral judgments are about what we would like. From what we do, of who we are, does not follow what we should do, what we should be. It is is impossible to deduce what should be. If we are as human beings should, incur a fallacy.
Reason alone can never bring any action, not motivation, but stimulates the passions and moral causes or prevents actions. So why is not the basis of moral judgments, moral judgments are not deductive or inductive.
The origin of moral judgments arises within oneself, in a sense, there is failed crime or virtue is praised. Certain facts before we react with passion, excitement or affection. Therefore, the vice and virtue are not qualities, but perceptions of the mind.Things in themselves are not good or bad, but as we feel them, they project onto those qualities. The reason discovers the objects, but the human preference given values. Things are just facts, the feeling is when speaking of pleasure, pleasure or displeasure and pain when they acquire meaning, value, category of good or bad, and we prefer or reject them. Similarly, virtue is any action or quality to a viewer or pleasure after pleasure to give her approval. Feelings are what drive us to act. When we say that such action is good, the statement calls us to do that action. Moral judgments determine our behavior, lead us to act in one way or another. Morality is a set of trials, in which there is an approval or disapproval.
What are the principles of morality, and how can we objectively know? Hume starts by observing the facts, and aims to analyze the elements that people attach to people who make a man consider him worthy of esteem or contempt. Thus the moral issue becomes a matter of fact, which can be analyzed with the experimental method.
The moral values depend on its usefulness
The qualities or actions whose valuation generates a feeling of pleasure are approved, are considered good, while those who disapprove generate damage, are considered bad. But what counts is not only its own welfare, also the principle of sympathy, which allows you to feel pleasure and displeasure of others. The qualities are useful to the community and helpful to oneself. But it is the feeling that gives preference to the useful information concerning the adverse trends, and depends on the satisfaction of the individual or group. And that feeling is the desire of happiness to mankind and the rejection of his pain. Thus, the usefulness and pleasure are the foundation of what is considered valuable in a person.
Morality is rooted in desires, needs and inclinations of human nature itself. They rely on the human mind and feelings. The strengths are in human nature, and it defends itself, for example, if a character or action is depraved, does a feeling of reproach to the character or action. But our nature is not only feeling, it is also right. The moral rightness of an action, is also the object of reasoning. And the utility that supports the assessment of personal qualities, has to take account of society because we feel the obligation of justice toward other human beings because we are with them. Thus, empathy and compassion are feelings that are based on the needs of others. Therefore, individual happiness is linked to the collective. Man seeks his own good and the good of the community, since it is your own good. If we lived in a state of abundance and no material necessity, or if we were self-sufficient, needing no one, the rules of justice would be futile. But it is not the case. All virtues are the faculty in human nature can not remain indifferent to the welfare of his fellows, and values that is good which promotes the happiness of his fellows, and an evil which promotes their misery.
Morality is grounded in human nature, feelings, utility, hedonism and even rational capacities. And without dogmas, as someone who thinks for himself does not need to act morally in any religious motive, and unfortunately, those who are unable to think for themselves, are so insensitive to religious thought as to the reasons why.