Difference Between Hume And Mill

1289 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethics and morality philosophy

Hume & Mill David Hume and John Stuart Mill are both philosophers that believe in a higher power (god(s)). They are primarily concerned with the thought process behind human action. Their main discussion points are on the moral values of humans, and the difference between what is moral and what is just, or any combination of the two. Hume in “An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals” discusses his understanding of the principles of morals, benevolence, and justice. Hume states, “Disputes with men, pertinaciously obstinate in their principles, are, of all others, the most irksome; except, perhaps, those with persons, entirely disingenuous, who really do not believe the opinions they defend, but engage in the controversy, from affectation, …show more content…

Someone is admired more when their actions help the wellbeing of another person, since self-love is so strong in human nature, it is understandable why so many philosophers claim it as the reason why moral judgements are made. Hume’s theories of morals are that they are justifiable and obligation is related to what is pleasurable and agreeable. When someone does something to help another person, people look at that individual as unselfish and caring. When someone does something unselfish and caring it is seen as a moral judgement. They did something to help better another person’s life rather than their own, for the sake of the other person’s happiness. As a result, moral values are present within the individual’s actions. Accordingly, obligation relates to what is pleasurable and agreeable. Many people would agree that helping someone else will make both parties feel good about themselves and see it as a good action. If someone were to not help another person, they would be seen as selfish. If they are seen as selfish they can’t really love themselves because they will never be satisfied, since true satisfaction comes from the soul after doing a moral action. If they do not experience the feeling of satisfaction, they lose what is pleasurable and the general public will not agree with their actions. If the public does not agree …show more content…

He points out that there are plenty of our animal instinct that are a certain point in time were useful and after a certain time, became useless. An example of this, presented by Professor Seltzer at Rowan University, is how humans have a taste for sweet things and it was useful because it helped us eat fruit that we would need. Now we use that sense to eat things such as candy, which is not good for us at all. According to Lauren F. Friedman in the online article, “15 Terrible Things That Happen If You Eat Too Much Sugar”, the results of eating too much candy are things like cavities, weight gain, high blood pressure, and nutrition

Show More
Related

  • John Stuart Mill's Abortion Debate

    187 Words  | 1 Pages

    John Stuart Mill was one of the most influential Western philosopher. At the time, most Western philosophers had the tendency to look down on women. They believed that women are too emotional and are incapable of being rational. However, Mill was an exception to this as he was an advocate for gender equality (Utilitarian Ethics). He is also known for his work in Utilitarianism, which focuses on the consequence of an action and whether that action benefit a greater number of people (Utilitarian Ethics).

    Read More

  • Comparing Morality in The Prince, Second Treatise of Government, and Utilitarianism

    2060 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...e driven into civil society by their contentious natures. As such, all three have the need for an organizing and directing influence in society to ensure that it accomplishes the ends for which it exists. For Machiavelli and for Locke, this influence comes directly from the government. For Mill, this influence comes from within society, the associations one forms with other people; however it requires a certain minimal support from the government to keep it on the proper track. This influence is morality, and it is an extension of human nature.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism and Morality in John Stuart Mill´s Essay

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    From top to bottom, John Stuart Mill put forth an incredible essay depicting the various unknown complexities of morality. He has a remarkable understanding and appreciation of utilitarianism and throughout the essay the audience can grasp a clearer understanding of morality. Morality, itself, may never be totally defined, but despite the struggle and lack of definition it still has meaning. Moral instinct comes differently to everyone making it incredibly difficult to discover a basis of morality. Society may never effectively establish the basis, but Mill’s essay provides people with a good idea.

    Read More

  • Human Selfless or Selfish in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is human nature inherently selfless or selfish? Although a seemingly simple concept, the aforementioned question has long been a profoundly controversial topic. While many claim that humans are intrinsically compassionate and inclined to help those in need, others argue that people instinctively prioritize their own individual security over other people’s welfares. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s literary works, “Young Goodman Brown” and The Scarlett Letter, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s renowned novel, The Great Gatsby, all reference the idea that people impulsively pursue perfection, as determined by their community’s values. While different communities establish different standards for perfection, society as whole romanticizes the idea of perfection and subsequently people strive to create the illusion of a perfect life. How an individual represents the values idealized by a given community determines his/her reputation in that community. Although people may appear to wholesomely follow the values idolized by their community, in reality, human nature is inherently flawed, making it impossible for people to achieve perfection.

    Read More

  • Edmund Burke vs John Stuart Mill

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ideology of Edmund Burke and John Stuart Mill were some very widely known and very well accredited philosophers that influenced a large majority of the people and how they thought about certain things. Edmund Burke has been seen as the father of conservatism, (Harris, 2010) which is the belief in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society. (Merriam-Webster, 2013) Second, were his thoughts and concerns about the religious aspects of society, and how if we have too many it could lead to problems. On the other hand there is John Stuart Mill who believed in the ideology of liberty, which was one that suggests that absolute power for the state is not the correct path to follow, but that individual freedom is. Additionally Mill has been known as a great believer in utilitarianism as well as a follower and fan of Jeremy Bentham, therefore his thought was the belief that a morally good action is one that helps the greatest number of people. (Merriam-Webster, 2013)

    Read More

  • Hume's Ideas on Cause and Effect

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cause and effect is a tool used to link happenings together and create some sort of explanation. Hume lists the “three principles of connexion among ideas” to show the different ways ideas can be associated with one another (14). The principles are resemblance, contiguity, and cause and effect. The focus of much of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding falls upon the third listed principle. In Section I, Hume emphasizes the need to uncover the truths about the human mind, even though the process may be strenuous and fatiguing. While the principle of cause and effect is something utilized so often, Hume claims that what we conclude through this process cannot be attributed to reason or understanding and instead must be attributed to custom of habit.

    Read More

  • Hume Vs Kant

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hume’s ultimate goal in his philosophic endeavors was to undermine abstruse Philosophy. By focusing on the aspect of reason, Hume shows there are limitations to philosophy. Since he did not know the limits, he proposed to use reason to the best of his ability, but when he came to a boundary, that was the limit. He conjectured that we must study reason to find out what is beyond the capability of reason.

    Read More

  • Kant vs. Mill: Human Rights and Utilitarianism

    1725 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kant’s moral philosophy is built around the formal principles of ethics rather than substantive human goods. He begins by outlining the principles of reasoning that can be equally expected of all rational persons regardless of their individual desires or partial interests. It creates an ideal universal community of rational individuals who can collectively agree on the moral principles for guiding equality and autonomy. This is what forms the basis for contemporary human rig...

    Read More

  • David Hume's Argument on Passion and Morality

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Why is incest deplorable amongst humans, but not for dogs? What makes it acceptable for a man to kill a deer, but wrong if he kills another man? Why do these lines get drawn between humans and animals? David Hume has an answer to these questions. Though many philosophers, like Saint Augustine, argue that humans are morally different from animals because of their capability to reason, Hume states that it is passion and sentiment that determines morality. In his book, Treatise with Human Nature, Hume claims that vice and virtue stems from the pleasure or pain we, mankind, feel in response to an action not from the facts that we observe (Hume, 218). Hume uses logic to separate morality into a dichotomy of fact and value, making it clear that the only reasonable way to think of the ethics of morality is to understand that it is driven by passion, as opposed to reason (Angeles, 95). In this essay I will layout Hume's position on morality and defining ambiguous terms on the way. After Hume's argument is well established, I will then precede to illustrate why it is convincing and defend his thesis against some common objections.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Philo, Demea And Cleanthes

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scottish philosopher David Hume wrote one of his famous writings, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, in 1779, which is a conversation between three individuals discussing religion and the various aspects surrounding it. The three members of the dialogue are Philo, Demea, and Cleanthes. Demea represents fideism, which means that he believes that one has to rely on faith, not reason. Philo represents skepticism and is the individual whose ideas are closest to Hume’s own personal views on religion. Cleanthes represents theological rationalism, which is the belief that one can learn about God through evidence in nature. A major topic of discussion in Hume’s Dialogues between Philo, Demea, and Cleanthes is the argument from design.

    Read More

  • Of Necessity and Liberty

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Hume proposes attributes a sense of moral responsibility lost in Hume’s interpretation for the doctrine of liberty and necessities, for humans are responsible only for their choices.

    Read More

  • James Mill And John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to understand John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism we must first understand his history and motives in writing the series of essays. Mill had many influencers most notably his father James Mill and the father of Utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham. James grew up poor but was influenced by his mother, who had high hopes for the formerly named Milne family, and educated himself becoming a preacher and then executive in the East India Company. James was a proponent of empiricism and believed in John Locke’s idea of man being born as a blank slate. James did not send his son John to school, teaching him rigorously from the early age of three. Despite his father’s emphasis on the blank slate, Mill was criticized for being a manufactured man because

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism

    1351 Words  | 3 Pages

    A major problem in society John Stuart Mill highlights is that there is not a set standard for judging what makes something right or wrong. Clearing these principles is one of the fundamental steps for consensus on moral thinking. Mill believes that what makes something right or wrong is based on whether it is thought of as “good”. However, this only further raises the question on what is considered good. Mill purposes the goodness as a principle of utility, otherwise known as greatest happiness principle. Whatever brings about the most happiness is what is the most good. While others argue that natural instincts disprove the principle of utility as well as any other standard on morals, Mill believes the consistency of moral beliefs throughout history shows that there is in fact some kind of foundation.

    Read More

  • David Hume on Sentiments and Reason

    1553 Words  | 4 Pages

    Something must be desirable on its own account, and because of its immediate accord or agreement with human sentiment and affection” (87). In conclusion, I believe that Hume thinks that reason, while not completely useless, is not the driving force of moral motivation. Reasons are a means to sentiments, which in turn are a means to morality, but without reasons there can still be sentiments. There can still be beauty. Reasons can not lie as the foundation of morality, because they can only be true or false.

    Read More

  • David Hume's Distinction Between Natural and Artificial Virtues

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    In David Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature, he divides the virtues of human beings into two types: natural and artificial. He argues that laws are artificial and a human invention. Therefore, he makes the point that justice is an artificial virtue instead of a natural virtue. He believed that human beings are moral by nature – they were born with some sense of morality and that in order to understand our “moral conceptions,” studying human psychology is the key (Moehler). In this paper, I will argue for Hume’s distinction between the natural and artificial virtues.

    Read More

More about Difference Between Hume And Mill

Open Document