What is a moral? This is a question that has plagued philosophers for many years. Is it possible
to have a set of universal morals? There are many questions that surround the mystery of morals. They
seem to drive our every action. We base our decisions on what is right and what is wrong. But what is it
that actually determines what is right and what is wrong? Is it our sense of reason? Is it our sense of
sentiment? This is a question that David Hume spent much of his life pondering. What exactly is it that
drives our actions? Yes, morals drive them, but what determines what our morals are? What is it that
ultimately drives our actions; our feelings or our minds?
Hume would say that it is our sentiment that ultimately drives our actions. According to Hume,
reason is incapable of motivating an action. According to Hume, reason cannot fuel an action and
therefore cannot motivate it. Hume feel that all actions are motivated by our sentiment. For example, on
page 84 Appendix I, he gives the example of a criminal. "It resides in the mind of the person, who is
ungrateful. He must, therefore, feel it, and be conscious of it." Here, it is evident that Hume is saying that
unless the person, or criminal in this case, sincerely believes in what he wants to do, he will not be able to
motivate the action. In other words, unless the sentiment is there, the action cannot be willed into being.
Hence, the sentiment is the driving force behind the action.
Hume does not however say that reason is incapable of determining wether an action is virtuous
or vicious (moral or immoral ...