In David Hume’s book A Treatise of Human Nature, Hume endeavors to investigate human nature through empirical means. By doing this, Hume is able to develop a moral theory that explores how we appraise and assign virtue, how we evaluate morals, and what is it is that drives actions. Ultimately, the empirical school of moral thought is promoted throughout A Treatise of Human Nature, while at the same time attacking rationalist moral theory. For the purpose of this paper, I will argue that Hume’s theory in incomplete because it overestimates the existence of a general and steady view. I will begin by offering a brief outline of Hume’s account of the appraisal of virtues, as well as an explanation of the role that sympathy plays in this account.
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In particular, sympathy allows us to approve of some traits and actions but not others. Hume uses the word sympathy to mean our capacity “to receive by communication [a person’s] inclinations and sentiments, however different from, or even contrary, to our own” (Bk. 2, part 1, sec. XI). To establish why this it is the case that we use sympathy to assess character traits Hume makes two claims. The first being that an action is virtuous or vicious in virtue of causing a certain pain or pleasure. The second being that the pain or pleasure experienced is caused by emotional dispositions to feel that way. It is sympathy that causes those feelings in a person. A certain character trait can be judged as being either virtuous or vicious based on our sympathizing with those for whom the trait is agreeable. If the person judges the trait with approval then it will be viewed as causing please, and similarly if a trait is met with disapproval then it will be seen as causing pain. Sympathy here acts as a psychological response to a stimulus, namely an action that is evoked in a person. For this to occur, a person will need to use their imagination to determine if that action causes pain or pleasure by assessing how it would impact them. Sympathy also allows us to experience the pain of an injustice and the pleasure of someone who is treated virtuously. This can be seen when Hume states, “No quality of human nature is more remarkable […] than that propensity we have to sympathize with others and to receive their inclinations and sentiments” (Bk. 2, part 1, sec. XI). To summarize, a person will act in a certain way and then there will be an effect of this action. This effect will be followed by a reaction a person has to the effect, which will in turn evoke a sympathetic response. This sympathy will allow the person to
In particular, sympathy allows us to approve of some traits and actions but not others. Hume uses the word sympathy to mean our capacity “to receive by communication [a person’s] inclinations and sentiments, however different from, or even contrary, to our own” (Bk. 2, part 1, sec. XI). To establish why this it is the case that we use sympathy to assess character traits Hume makes two claims. The first being that an action is virtuous or vicious in virtue of causing a certain pain or pleasure. The second being that the pain or pleasure experienced is caused by emotional dispositions to feel that way. It is sympathy that causes those feelings in a person. A certain character trait can be judged as being either virtuous or vicious based on our sympathizing with those for whom the trait is agreeable. If the person judges the trait with approval then it will be viewed as causing please, and similarly if a trait is met with disapproval then it will be seen as causing pain. Sympathy here acts as a psychological response to a stimulus, namely an action that is evoked in a person. For this to occur, a person will need to use their imagination to determine if that action causes pain or pleasure by assessing how it would impact them. Sympathy also allows us to experience the pain of an injustice and the pleasure of someone who is treated virtuously. This can be seen when Hume states, “No quality of human nature is more remarkable […] than that propensity we have to sympathize with others and to receive their inclinations and sentiments” (Bk. 2, part 1, sec. XI). To summarize, a person will act in a certain way and then there will be an effect of this action. This effect will be followed by a reaction a person has to the effect, which will in turn evoke a sympathetic response. This sympathy will allow the person to