An enquiry concerning the principles of morals /
David Hume ; edited, and with an introduction by J.B. Schneewind.
Description
- Language(s)
-
English
- Published
-
Indianapolis : Hackett Pub. Co., c1983.
- Summary
-
"Judging it to be "of all my writings incomparably the best," David Hume (1711-1776) accurately assessed this classic, which continues to influence philosophical thinking on ethics to this day through the force of its ideas and its clarity of expression." "Among the many insights that Hume expounds in this work is that morality is grounded in feelings, not in knowledge. Based on moral sentiment, people naturally value agreeable qualities and shun disagreeable ones. Anticipating later utilitarian philosophy, he maintains that the virtues that are most highly esteemed are those that have the greatest usefulness to most people. Hume puts special emphasis on altruism, which he says is rooted in the natural feeling that each of us has for our fellow human beings." "Hume's thinking about ethics was considered radical in it day. His empirical method of interpreting morality as an outgrowth of innate, human emotions helped to steer later philosophy away from transcendentalist notions of ethics." --Book Jacket.
- Note
-
Includes index.
- Physical Description
-
122 p. ;
23 cm.
- ISBN
-
0915145464 (hard) :
0915145456 (pbk.) :
Viewability