Principals of Morals

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses David Hume's view of morality.
The writer claims that Hume suggests that one's sense of morality is based on a desire to have others think about oneself positively. One seeks approval from others and does not want to be rejected, so attempts to behave in ways that please others. He believes that the behaviors people disapprove of tend to make others happy. This means that morality may actually have less to do with right and wrong than one sometimes think it does. He also argues that it is just part of human nature to feel sympathy for others, and that everyone possesses sympathy to some degree. The writer discusses cheating incidents and relevant moral views.

From the Paper:

"While most people may possess some degree of sympathy for others, the existence of such people as John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy, both ruthless serial sexual predators and murderers, suggests that not everyone sympathizes with others. However, they may be balanced out by people who go to extraordinary lengths to help humankind -- for example, Mother Theresa.
The best argument in favor of Hume's view of morality might be that different cultures have different senses of what is right and what is wrong. In our culture, fidelity between spouses is considered important. Faithfulness within a marriage is viewed as morally right, and infidelity is viewed as morally wrong. However, this is not true in all cultures. This in turn suggests the idea of Hume's social pressure."

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