Passion as the Criterion for Moral Judgment
Ethics is the study of human conduct or in other words the study of moral behavior. All humans use ethics in their daily actions and decisions, but not many have the opportunity to probe into the core of ethics. When Socrates said in 399 B.C., “The unexplained life is not worth living” he was encouraging man to examine his way of life and ways of moral decision making. Ethics not only aims to discover the rules that should govern a moral life, but the goods one should aim to acquire in their life time. Ethics aims to explain why and how man acts the way he does and to shape the way man lives and acts,. Some philosophers say that reason is the criterion for making moral judgments, others say that duty and obligation rule moral decisions. Eighteenth century philosopher David Hume gave a different outlook on what makes man act the way he does. Hume takes an almost Epicurean stance and proclaims that man’s passions overrule reason and direct man’s moral actions and judgments. Moral judgments are manifestations of human sentiments and passions.
Hume states that the passions are the only way to understand morality. The nature of moral values is to be discovered through the passions. Hume rejects that reason is the criterion for moral judgments, and bases most of his “Treatise of Human Nature” on refuting reason as the basis for moral actions.
Hume strongly opposes the idea that moral judgments are the conclusion of reason. The role of reason in relation to moral judgments is to be only in relation to the passions. Reason must be slave to man’s passions. Reason is to help man find his moral obligations and duties, but reason does not produce or act on obligation or moral duty; man’s passions motivate one to act.
Passion is the criterion for all moral judgments because there are no absolute moral values. Moral values differ from one person to the next because they are based on human experience. Passions, along with moral judgments, exist for each man. One cannot tell another that what they feel is wrong or unreasonable. It is a personal experience and no one can judge one’s sentiments or feelings. Since reason is the discovery of truth or falsehood, reason cannot be the basis for moral judgments. Moral judgments differ from man to man; why else would there be so much crime and wrongdoing in this society? Actions may be to blame in certain situations, but they cannot be called reasonable or unreasonable. If reason rules moral actions there would be no wrong in society because all people would follow the same moral code of conduct, but because man acts from his experience, passions, and sentiments not all men follow the same rules.
Many philosophers disagree with Hume’s idea of passions guiding human moral judgments. Among Hume’s strongest opposition would be the ancient philosophers Socrates and Plato. Both men believed that reason was the basis for moral judgments. Socrates’ thesis on reason was that only reason could lead man to truth and understanding. For Socrates rationality was the basis for morality. Plato believed that only through reason could man arrive at true knowledge. He thought that reason is an integral part of morals and its role is to gain knowledge and wisdom to fulfill the soul. Plato believed that human nature is reason and hence reason is good because human nature is good. Humans of today have proved Plato wrong; not all human nature is good. Plato also stated that, “Opinion without knowledge is always a shabby sort of thing. One who holds a true belief without intelligence is just like a blind man who happens to take the right road.” Plato held intellectual knowledge and reason with the highest regards. He also believed that there is a fight between passion and reason, but Hume rejects that notion and says that the passions and reason can never oppose each other because a passion can never be called unreasonable. A passion can never be called unreasonable because it is a human sentiment that no one has the right or authority to judge or condemn.
Hume gives two good arguments as to why the criterion of moral judgment is not reason. In his first example he uses an example of a parent tree giving birth to a sampling which then grows and kill the parent tree. Hume ponders why this instance is considered normal for the tree, but in the case of man it would not be considered moral. Hume compares this situation to ingratitude towards parents in human nature.
The question arises among philosophers, whether the guilt of moral deformity of this action be discovered by demonstrative reasoning, or be felt by an internal sense, and by means of some sentiment, which the reflecting on such an action naturally occasions. This question will soon be decided against the former opinion(reason), if we can show the same relations in other objects, without the notion of any guilt or iniquity attending them.(Johnson 183). Ingratitude towards one’s parents is considered wrong, and probably immoral, but man thinks nothing of a sappling overpowering and killing it’s parent. Man cannot reason this, it is one’s feelings and sentiments that make the decision.
Hume feels that using reason as an approach is cold and detached. A man that uses only reason leaves his heart out of his decisions. This is where I am in the most agreeance with Hume. Hume states that, “Reason exerts itself without producing any sensible emotion”(Johnson 176). A complete man acts on accordance of his passions.
Hume’s second example to explain that reason is not the basis for moral choices is in the case of human incest. He poses the question, “…Why incest in the human species is criminal, and why the very same action, and the same relations in animals have not the smallest moral turpitude and deformity?” Incest is accepted in animals because they do not have the reason to discover the immortality of the actions. If man guided his judgments by reason, the action of incest would be moral or immoral regardless of the species.
“Animals are susceptible of the same relations, with respect to each other, as the human species, and therefore would also be susceptible of the same morality if the essence of morality consisted in these relations. Their want of a sufficient degree of reason may hinder these duties from existing; since they must antecedently exist, in order to their perceived. Reason must find them, and can never produce them.” (Johnson 184). Hume feels his argument is sound. For the problem must first exist for it to be subject to man’s reason and is therefore independent of reason.
Another critic of Hume’s philosophy is Immanuel Kant. Kant says that reason cannot guide man, but can influence one’s will to act. This statement opposes Hume’s position that reason does not control one’s desires. Kant does not associate will with desire or the passions that Hume discusses. Kant’s idea of a priori ideas opposes Hume’s experimental approach. Kant’s idea that man should act prior to the experience and with no regard to the situation contradicts Hume’s experimental/situational approach to passions governing moral decisions. Hume’s idea of passions depends a lot on man’s prior life experiences. Kant believes that happiness and being moral are not the same. Hume would argue that man may have a duty to be happy, but the degree to which we are happy cannot be judged morally. It is not true that the happier one is the more moral one is. Hume argued in his Treatise that reason doesn’t influence the will, but Kant says that reason influence the will, but does not guide one’s actions.
Hume’s position on passions governing moral judgments fits today’s society well. Socrates and Plato may have wrote on what was true in their society, but their positions on reasoning being the criterion for moral actions is no longer valid in the 20th Century. Humans are spontaneous and emotional. They act in their own good, for their own emotional sake at the time. In today’s fast paced world not many people stop to reason through their actions. Hume established that moral judgments have no objective foundation, but are only subjective in character.
Другие работы по теме:
Cognition Essay Research Paper 10 What are
Cognition Essay, Research Paper 10) What are some other key biases that influence judgement? Judgement seems to be influenced by a variety of things each have their own implication on judgement. Overconfidence serves as a bias on judgement. Fischhoff, Slovic, and Lichtenstein, in 1997, tested this idea.
Cover Letter Proctology Essay Research Paper Dear
Cover Letter: Proctology Essay, Research Paper Dear Mr. I am writing you this letter to ask you to write me a letter of recommendation for a college. I will be applying to many and would be honored to have a letter from you
The Killing Of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Essay
, Research Paper The Killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet’s own Philosophic view. In terms of Hamlet’s own philosophic view, the killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is very out-of-character. Hamlet is an intellectual, and therefore believes that killing is not a necessary solution (this could also relate to why he hesitates so long at killing Claudius).
Untitled Essay Research Paper I am afraidI
Untitled Essay, Research Paper I am afraid. I am lonely. I want to be at home now. I hate the silence. I hate the circumstances. I want to feel love now. I want to feel passion not emptiness.
Brutus Conflict Between Honor And Responicibility Essay
, Research Paper A Paper On Brutus? Conflict Between Passion and Responsibility Throughout the play ?Julius Caesar,? by William Shakespeare, Brutus is torn between passion and responsibility. There are three very good examples of this, the first being, obviously, Brutus? mental conflict dealing with the conspiracy surrounding Caesar?s assassination.
Kant And Disinterestedness Essay Research Paper
“which we Disinterestedness has been a reaccurant theme in aesthetic thought throughout recent times. Kant was one of the first to discribe disinterestedness as an basic and universal part of the aesthetic judgement experiance. However the notion of disinterestedness did not origninate with Kant; it is to be found in the writtings of many Eighteenth centuray philosophers such as Stolinitz, Shaftsbury, Hutcheson, Gerard and Burke.
Jane Eyre 7 Essay Research Paper In
Jane Eyre 7 Essay, Research Paper In Charlotte Bront Jane Eyre, the main character faces many struggles. One of the struggles she faces is the temptation to run away with the man she loves and be his mistress or to marry a man who offers her the contrary where it would be a legal and highly respectable marriage but with no genuine love.
Kant An Act Of Moral Worth
Essay, Research Paper Jill had been driving down a deserted road when her tire became flat. With no one around for miles she struggled with changing the tire when Jack happened to be driving by and stopped to give her a hand. How and why is this an act of genuine moral worth?
Child Morality Essay Research Paper The Child
Child Morality Essay, Research Paper The Child as a Moral Philosopher In this Article ? The Child as a Moral Philosopher,? psychologist Lawrence Kolberg gives a clear description of his theory of moral development. Kolberg uses the studies of seventy-five American boys of varying ages. He also uses boys from other cultures for instance Great Britain, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico and Turkey.
Rock And Roll Essay Research Paper At
Rock And Roll Essay, Research Paper At the beginning at Enemy at the Gates, it showed the new Russian recruits being loaded onto trains to fight at Stalingrad. There was little organization, just a mob of young men
The Storm And The Rocking Horse Winner
Essay, Research Paper As a general rule, children love fairy tales. We grow up being read Grimm’s or watching Disney remakes of classics. Parents love telling children fairy tales not only because they have an opportunity to spend time with their sons and daughters, but also because fairy tales, like fables, always contain a lesson or moral within them.
Economics Of Sex Essay Research Paper This
Economics Of Sex Essay, Research Paper This mini-paper is to study how people of different moral standard choose their one-night-stand partners. At a late stage of this paper, I will state the limitations of this theory.
Hungrey Essay Research Paper Global hunger is
Hungrey? Essay, Research Paper Global hunger is a major concern that effects the whole world. According to Peter Singer ?the whole way we look at moral issues-our moral conceptual scheme
Adolescence And Moral Development Essay Research Paper
Adolescence and Moral Development Two major reasons exist for studying moral development and during adolescence. First, congnitive changes that occur during adolescence are related to moral develpment. formal operational thinking allows the adolescent to interpret the social environment in new and different ways.
Question Of Being Essay Research Paper Many
Question Of Being Essay, Research Paper Many events were unexplainable and maybe even seemed to be magical before science evolved to what it is today. All questions relating to the origin
Divine Command Theory Essay Research Paper Divine
Divine Command Theory Essay, Research Paper Divine Command Theory The divine command theory is the view that moral actions are those which conform to God’s will. Charity, for example, is morally proper because God endorses it, and murder is wrong because God condemns it. One way to test to see whether any action is right or wrong is first to determine if it conforms to God’s will, it is morally permissible, if it does not, then it is impermissible.
What Does It Mean To Be Moral
Essay, Research Paper What does it mean to be moral? Our morality is used every day in every situation and decision we make. Morality is very much a part of who you are. To be a person who is moral you know what is right and wrong on your own.
Nietzsche Essay Research Paper The Morality of
Nietzsche Essay, Research Paper The Morality of Passions by Nietzsche presents a view of man s relationship with passion contrary to the tradition and thought of major religion and proclaimed moral gurus. His main criticism of the way the church deals with passion is that it does not suggest spiritualizing the feelings that we all have approaching them as beautiful and good, but makes a thoughtless and quick judgement immediately.
Bronte Essay Research Paper emotions
Bronte Essay, Research Paper emotions — both joyful and sad. By creating an emotional see-saw from the encounters between Jane and Rochester, the novelist indicates that these intense emotions define true love. Bront ’s emphasis on the importance of passion in a good relationship adheres to some of the doctrines of the Evangelical religion, which dominated the Victorian age.
Born To Be Good Essay Research Paper
Born To Be Good Over the entire human existence, human nature has been based on ones own survival. The minute a human life enters the world, they are born with the most pureity and innocients that they will ever have. As a human baby grows to learn more about life they are introduce to the most imporant athourity that they will ever know.
King LearBlindness Essay Research Paper King Lear
King Lear-Blindness Essay, Research Paper King Lear is in many ways like Nunez in the story The country of the Blind . They are both simliar because they both do not realize that they are both blind in what others think of them. They might think that they are right beacause both of them think that the people around them are inferior because of the way that they appear.
My Stage In Moral Development Essay Research
Paper My Stage in Moral Development In the beginning, I was quite confused on what stage I would pick for it would be very difficult to for me to determine the stage I consider myself to be and the stage my peers see me to be. But in a case like this, I decided to trust my own judgement. The first stage, which is the punishment and obedience orientation, is not an issue for me anymore because when I was younger I was taught with the carrot and stick approach.
Madame Bovary Essay Research Paper In Madame
Madame Bovary Essay, Research Paper In Madame Bovary by gustave Flaubert, the theme of fantasy not always being reality is carried throughout the novel. Emma prefered the fantasy world to the real world. She spent most of her time yearning for a life with passion, exitement, and bliss. She was blind to the world around her, she longed for the romantic fantasy life she had dreamed about since she was a child.
Wife Of Bath Essay Research Paper Wife
Wife Of Bath Essay, Research Paper Wife Of Bath Feminism, or a doctrine advocating social, politcal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men, plays a large role in “The Wife of Bath’s
Great Gatsby Quest Essay Research Paper Nick
Great Gatsby Quest Essay, Research Paper Nick and Gatsby s Quest In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the thematic quest for the Holy Grail is shown through the conduct of Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Gatsby s crusade is to attain Daisy Buchanan s love. While Nick s quest is to discover what matters in life and to live his life accordingly.
Islamic Religion Essay Research Paper I do
Islamic Religion Essay, Research Paper I do not agree with the Islamic beliefs that God is the enemy of unbelievers. As an outsider to this religion this does not sit well with me. I believe God has no enemies. Wait, I mean he loves everyone, but I?m kind of unsure of his feelings towards child molesters, rapists and murderers.
Julius Caesar Power
’s Corruption Essay, Research Paper Brutus, Cassius, Caesar, and the other Senators held the power to do things others could not. With this authority came their ability to use poor judgement. In William Shakespeare?s tragic play Julius Caesar the theme Power Corrupts is arrayed thoroughly. Murder, treason, and ethical/moral corruption were three prevalent themes that proved the overall topic of Power Corrupts.
Civil Vs Moral Essay Research Paper Civil
Civil Vs Moral Essay, Research Paper ?Civil Law vs. Moral law? In Sophocles? play ?Antigone?, Antigone?s life is taken from her because of her choice to follow the moral law by burying her brother and disobeying the civil law, which forbid this.
The Moral Progression Of Huckleberry Finn Essay
, Research Paper The Moral Progression of Huckleberry Finn The main character of Mark Twain?s Huckleberry Finn undergoes a total moral transformation upon having to make life defining decisions throughout his journey for a new