The dictionary defines morality as "1. standards of conduct that are accepted as right or proper; 2. The rightness or wrongness of something as judged by accepted moral standards; 3. A lesson in moral behavior." (Encarta, 1999) All three of those definitions have a strong element of the larger society in them.
Public discussions of moral behavior also emphasize the social nature of judging behavior. In Great Britain, Tony Blair gave a speech where he argued for a "new social morality" that included duties as well as rights ((Lloyd, 1996)). Such comments demonstrate the difficulty of establishing whose morality is the right one. Blair is a politician, and it seems reasonable that he was motivated by his political ambitions at least as much as he was concerned about the moral development of individuals. But in addition, most people probably already include their duties in what they consider moral behavior. For instance, in a family the parents have a duty to provide the minimum amounts of support for their children, including food, clothing, shelter, and education. If they don't send their children to school, they are not doing their duty. If the parents divorce, we require both parents do everything they can to support the children financially. If they fail to feed their children adequately, the state will come in and either make sure that happens or make other provisions for the children. We have duties all around us. Fail to meet those duties, and we are judged by others as flawed.
Hume sees the pressure to be moral as coming from outside ourselves. We want to be happy, and in order to be happy we have to meet other people's expectations. Aristotle believed that individual reason played an important role, but Kant may have been closer to the truth, seeing a combination of reason and will (Davenport, 2000). I that applies to my high school situation. Reason would have told...
Once the reader gets past the language and time issues that have passed since Hume's lifetime, the ideas he presents become clear and make a great deal of sense. Hume uses several main arguments and conclusions in his writing. The first two are the most important, as they seem to set the groundwork for the others. The first is that everyone has impression and ideas about things but that these
David Hume's Concept Of Reason And Passion We live in an age that places great primacy on reason. With the evolution of scientific and technological knowledge, most people in Western societies believe that the faculties of reason should determine and motivate people's actions. More than two hundred years ago, however, British philosopher David Hume posited that reason cannot be the major determinant of moral action. Instead, reason should only play a
David Hume, in the fifth section of his work entitled, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, dismisses the concept that reasoning is the foundation upon which conclusions are necessarily drawn. As an empiricist, Hume believed that it was essential that individuals obtain knowledge based upon their own experience and observations. He classified knowledge into two types: the relations between ideas and matters of fact. In Hume's mind, mathematics is the classic
Hume UFOs and Resurrections: Why there can be no evidence for miracles, according to Hume If an object falls from a tree and then suddenly starts to rise back up, there must be a natural explanation. For example, the object must be a bird or other animal that can fly, or a sudden gust of wind might have carried the object back up. In any case, a law of nature was not
Descartes systematic approach to establishing an understanding of that which is rationally true inherently called on him to reject all assumed notions of what was true. This 'atheist' thought which he rejected would be characterized by its unfounded but universally accepted nature. By casting doubt and applying testing methods to assumed facts, Descartes sought to provide a living framework entirely governed by empiricism. Such a doctrine inclined Descartes to
Hume's Argument Against Induction According to the empiricist English philosopher David Hume, inductive logic is inherently invalid. Hume took an extremely radical view of empiricism, the point of philosophical view that immediate, perceptual experience alone should validate inquiry into the nature of human existence and the nature of reality. Inductive logic is derived from assumptions and hypothesis about natural laws that govern the universe. Because every situation is different, Hume believed,
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