Sunday, September 21, 2008

Hume Introduction

I understand that Hume believes that the only reason we have an emotion of empathy or compassion is because we are able to see ourselves in that posistion of the person suffering in pain, likewise when we see someone who has pleasure, we are jealous. So the logic is:

A) I am with people who are having pleasure/pain
B) I can imagine myself in that spot

= I either want to be in that spot, or to avoid being in that spot; thus, I should act in a manner that will increase pleasure and reduce pain, for all parties.

1 comment:

Erin said...

That is a really logical way to tie morality into Hume's three psychological tendencies. But, do you think people are really that influenced by jealousy/ example? I guess I always perceive morality to be more personal. But, that is a really interesting analysis.