An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding - Research Paper Example

An enquiry concerning human understanding Introduction According to Hume, moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. Hume gives a line of thoughts to support and validate this statement. The usual view perspective is that moral responsibility does not necessarily require the truth of necessity. Hume comes up with a different argument to counteract the normal thinking. In Hume’s argument, moral responsibility goes hand in hand with the determinism for an individual. Hume goes ahead and performs a thorough research on his case and comes up with different findings which he tables and puts on record. Personal thoughts and opinions depend on the moral responsibility of the individual. It is usually a common assumption that moral responsibility as a virtue is brought about by the characters of a person. In philosophy, human behavior and human thoughts are analyzed, and a definite conclusion driven. Hume, therefore, used philosophical methods to come up with the argument that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. Necessity refers to as the mother of invention. Necessity, therefore, is the fundamental source of human behavior and human thoughts. According to Hume’s findings, it is this necessity that determines moral responsibility. Responsibilities come in different ways, and for the responsibility to be moral, the necessity must be that of truth. In a simple argument, the need may be driven by various reasons like personal fulfillment or just greed. For moral responsibility to emerge, Hume argues that there must be the truth of necessity. The basis of this project is to evaluate the reasons Hume offers for this argument. In this essay therefore, assessing the truth of Hume’s argument is not only going to be helpful in coming up with a conclusive research in support of the argument, but will also help bring to light the thinking behind Hume’s statement. As the project research progresses, the reader should be able to find the logical reasoning of Hume and the optimal goal is to determine the credibility of Hume’s argument. Precisely, the reader should have sufficient confidence to state and argue that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. Exposition In understanding the argument in context, it is important to know what moral responsibility means. Responsibility is an action of praise or blame that people take. Responsibility is an action a person takes, with the welfare directed towards others (Hume, pg.22). The benefits of duty or work may also be directed towards the performer of the action. Philosophers argue that there is no common way of gauging an action as responsible or irresponsible. What may seem or sound responsible to one person may be the irresponsible thing to the other person. Responsibility may also be directed to the individual who performed the action. Actions that individuals perform are subject to criticism or praise by others. Given the chance and opportunity, everyone would have their personal opinions about what to be termed responsible and what not to. Citing an example of a situation of a car accident, the person who goes in the wreckage to save a dying child may be termed very responsible by some people. On the other hand, other people may argue that it would be wiser to call the ambulance first and, therefore, term this action as irresponsible. Hume argues that moral responsibility is what connects individuals as persons. Moral responsibility is the part that distinguishes humans from the rest of the creatures (Hume, pg. 46). According to this argument, therefore, moral responsibility is the foundation of a human being. Human beings are considered creatures responsible for their behavior and moral responsibility drives them towards better decision-making. Philosophy dictates that one can be responsible for their behavior if the behavior can be explained according to set of instructions such as a constitution, or according to a stipulated religious belief like the Bible. According to David Hume’s argument, determinism is what makes a free person a morally responsible person. Moral responsibility has not often been associated with freedom. The general opinion was that free people tend to misuse their liberty and end up losing respect for themselves and others. The public view of moral responsibility and freedom being two opposing forces was proved wrong by Hume. Hume argued that moral responsibility and freedom could be brought together by determinism. Determinism is expressed as the truth of necessity. In Hume’s book of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, he explores on this subject in the topic titled “Of liberty and necessity” (Hume, pg. 68). In this section Hume explores the impact of freedom and necessity. He argues that necessity can be combined with freedom to bring about moral responsibility. The real need only means that having the desire to do something for the right reasons will lead to making of better-informed choices. Determinism is the necessity to do the right and according to Hume’s report, it is the bridge that joins moral responsibility and freedom. Hume, in this article clearly states that moral responsibility relates to free will in terms of people’s logic of the concepts of liberty and necessity. The moral responsibility of a person refers directly to the logic and reasoning of a person. The logic is the part of humans that induces their ability to think and make viable decisions. Hume attributes this feature to the logics of a person’s freedom and necessity. Hume brings out the concept of an agent in this chapter. An agent is a person, idea or thought behind a free and responsible action. Hume gives certain conditions as the nature of the responsible conduct. The conditions include Hume’s description of the role moral responsibility plays in the world. Hume, therefore, had to take his time in describing the conditions in which people are considered responsible. A close reading and interpretation of Hume’s research alters the general perception and thinking of moral responsibility and our representation of his arguments relating to freedom. The writings of Hume can be divided into several sections, out of which he seeks to support his argument of moral responsibility and its relation to freedom. In Hume’s chapter of “New Light”, he talks about necessity without force. In support of the argument that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity, Hume talks majorly about the contribution of necessity to this idea. Hume says that necessity has to be of free will and not forced by any internal or external factor (Hume, pg. 122). Necessity without force, therefore, brings forward the concept of having the desire to do the right thing. The desire should be motivated by one’s personal will. Necessity without force describes the need of an individual to want what is right and what they can account. The connection of moral responsibility to freedom is what determines the morality of the action. In this chapter, Hume explores the probabilities of having a forceful necessity and its consequences on the moral responsibility of the individual. Necessity without force is one of the building pillars of Hume’s argument that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. According to Hume, all ideas originate from human perceptions. Moral responsibility primarily relies on ideas that get materialized into action. Hume defines ideas as the end products of impression or memories. Hume says that all perceptions are either impressions or copies of opinions. Basing the argument on the fact that necessity is driven by the desire to materialize ideas, Hume suggests of a way to control reactions and make them right. Having good ideas will lead to the right necessity thereby creating a morally responsible individual. In the Statement concerning feeling and meaning, for an expression to derive its meaning, it has to have an impression. The arrangement of thoughts is one of the factors behind the reasoning that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. In this segment, Hume argues that one impression leads to another, and a moral choice is, therefore, a consequence of a series of reactions. The difference between the right and the wrong moral decision is told based on the freedom to make the right impression. Ideas are recognized by similarity, contiguity and cause or effect. These characteristics of an idea define the perceptions that an individual should make (Hume, pg. 97). Critical discussion Despite his efforts to elaborate and clarify on the topic of discussion, the ideas brought forth by Hume are exposed to various critiques. Even though moral responsibility applies to individual and personal decisions, the influence of the society in any case cannot be ignored. The argument of Hume on the liberty of thought, therefore, proves a bit challenging when the organization is included in this discussion. Influence of the community is a major hindrance towards the independence of thought. People fail to have their freedom to think since they are exposed to influence and advice from the society. Hume’s reasoning of necessity without force is another critique of his model. Experts have argued that necessity is caused by need and desire. The intensity of the desire can be caused by factors like urgency, purpose or greed. Without overruling that necessity can be caused by the right motives, it relatively difficult to find such a pure reason in the midst of a morally irresponsible society. Hume in his argument, therefore, does not consider the reality in the ground but only relies on the results of his psychological research. Hume should have responded by carrying out the research on a variety of cultural and socially differentiated individuals. In response to the above critiques, Hume should also have carried out a testing sample on his methods. Observation from the samples should have come to the conclusion that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity. The possible responses have a higher possibility to turn negative than positive. Based on Hume’s research findings, the conclusions had been drafted in the best way possible. Conclusion The argument that moral responsibility requires the truth of necessity can be proven right based on the current contemporary society. Hume’s findings should be applied to an individual who desires to increase their moral responsibilities. The above-drafted essay may lead to conflicting questions based on the critical discussion part. Was Hume’s argument right after all? Works cited May, Thomas. Autonomy, authority and moral responsibility. Vol. 33. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Read More