David Hume’s views on aesthetic theory and the philosophy of art are to be found in his work on moral theory ... the capacity to produce art. To summarize Hume on taste, aesthetic and moral response is “immediate” ... preferable to the rash prejudices of the vulgar, Hume is content that moral sense assigns approbation to the ...

Abstract This chapter discusses the views on self-interest and morality of the Scottish empiricist philosopher David Hume (1711–76). The view that Hume’s ethics is purely anthropological or descriptive is criticized. Hume’s deontological ethics of action is compared with his utilitarian ethics of motive. It is shown that his utilitarianism is a view about rather than within morality: morality itself is a device for the promotion of happiness, so that non-utilitarian or deontological moral views may be conceptually confused. Hume’s conception of impartiality is explained, and finally his dualism of the practical reason, which allows for the rationality of self-sacrifice as well as that of immorality, depending on circumstances.

David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist who is known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beginning with A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40), Hume strove to create a naturalistic science of man that examined the psychological basis of human nature. Fo Hume's moral sentimentalism was shared by his close friend Adam Smith, and the two were mutually influenced by the moral reflections of their older contemporary, Francis Hutcheson. Peter Singer claims that Hume's argument that morals cannot have a rational basis alone "would have been enough to earn him a place in the history of ethics." Hume also put forward the is–ought problem, later known as Hume's Law, denying the possibility of logically deriving what ought to be from what is. According to the Treatise (1740), in every system of morality that Hume has read, the author begins by stating facts about the world as it is but always ends up suddenly referring to what ought to be the case. Hume demands that a reason should be given for inferring what ought to be the case, from what is the case. This is because it "seems altogether inconceivable, how this new relation can be a deduction from others." Hume's theory of ethics has been influential in modern-day meta-ethical theory, helping to inspire emotivism, and ethical expressivism and non-cognitivism, as well as Allan Gibbard's general theory of moral judgement and judgements of rationality. Hume expressed his economic views in his Political Discourses, which were incorporated in Essays and Treatises as Part II of Essays, Moral and Political. To what extent he was influenced by Adam Smith is difficult to assess; however, both of them had similar principles supported from historical events. At the same time, Hume did not demonstrate the concrete system of economic theory which could be observed in Smith's Wealth of Nation An opponent of philosophical rationalists, Hume held that passions rather than reason govern human behaviour, proclaiming that "Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions." Hume was also a sentimentalist who held that ethics are based on emotion or sentiment rather than abstract moral principle. He maintained an early commitment to naturalistic explanations of moral phenomena and is usually accepted by historians of European philosophy to have first clearly expounded the is–ought problem, or the idea that a statement of fact alone can never give rise to a normative conclusion of what ought to be done. As he did not recount what this scene exactly was, commentators have offered a variety of speculations. One prominent interpretation among contemporary Humean scholarship is that this new "scene of thought" was Hume's realisation that Francis Hutcheson's theory of moral sense could be applied to the understanding of morality as well. From this inspiration, Hume set out to spend a minimum of 10 years reading and writing. He soon came to the verge of a mental breakdown, first starting with a coldness—which he attributed to a "Laziness of Temper"—that lasted about nine months. This work contained the same ideas, but with a shorter and clearer explanation. Although there has been some academic speculation as to the pamphlet's true author, it is generally regarded as Hume's creation. === 1740s === The Essays Moral and Political was published in 1741, included in the later edition as Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. In 1745, Hume applied for the Chair of Pneumatics and Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. However, the position was given to William Cleghorn after Edinburgh ministers petitioned the town council not to appoint Hume because he was seen as an atheist. Hume is mainly considered an anti-rationalist, denying the possibility for practical reason, although other philosophers such as Christine Korsgaard, Jean Hampton and Elijah Millgram claim that Hume is not so much of an anti-rationalist as he is just a sceptic of practical reason. Hume denied the existence of practical reason as a principle because he claimed reason does not have any effect on morality, since morality is capable of producing effects in people that reason alone cannot create. As Hume explains in A Treatise of Human Nature (1740): Morals excite passions, and produce or prevent actions. Reason of itself is utterly impotent in this particular. Hume's moral sentimentalism was shared by his close friend Adam Smith, and the two were mutually influenced by the moral reflections of their older contemporary, Francis Hutcheson. Peter Singer claims that Hume's argument that morals cannot have a rational basis alone "would have been enough to earn him a place in the history of ethics." Hume also put forward the is–ought problem, later known as Hume's Law, denying the possibility of logically deriving what ought to be from what is. According to the Treatise (1740), in every system of morality that Hume has read, the author begins by stating facts about the world as it is but always ends up suddenly referring to what ought to be the case. Second, Hume has a theory of causation which fits in with the Chicago-school "black box" approach. According to Hume, cause and effect are related only through correlation. Hume shared the belief with modern monetarists that Of Miracles, section X of the Enquiry, was often published separately. 1751. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals. A reworking of material on morality from Book 3 of the Treatise, but with a significantly different emphasis. It "was thought by Hume to be the best of his writings." 1752. Political Discourses (part II of Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary within the larger Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, vol. 1). Included in Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects (1753–56) reprinted 1758–77. 1752–1758. Political Discourses/Discours politiques 1757.