Abstract:

Given the importance of sympathetic pleasures within Hume's account of approval and moral motivation, why does Hume think we feel obliged to act justly on those occasions when we know that doing so will benefit nobody? I argue that Hume uses the case of justice as evidence for a key claim regarding all virtues. Hume does not think we approve of token virtuous actions, whether natural or artificial, because they cause or aim to cause happiness in others. It is suffcient for the action to be of a type which has "a tendency to the public good" for us to feel approval of it, and to be motivated to perform it. Once we are aware that just actions tend to cause happiness, we approve of all just actions, even token actions which cause more unhappiness than happiness.

摘要：

鉴于休ume在认同和道德动机中享有同情快感的重要性，为什么休why认为我们知道在这种情况下任何人都不会受益，所以我们感到有义务公正地行事吗？我认为休ume将正义作为证据，证明了关于所有美德的关键主张。休ume认为我们不赞成采用象征性的道德行为，无论是自然的还是人为的，因为它们会导致或旨在引起他人的幸福。采取一种具有“一种对公共利益的倾向”的行动就足够了，让我们感到赞成它，并有动力去执行它。一旦我们意识到正义的行动往往会带来幸福，我们就会批准所有正义的行动，即使是象征性的行动也会导致比幸福更多的不快乐。