Humes A Treatise Of Human Nat essays

Humes A Treatise Of Human Nat essays In Humes A Treatise Of Human Nature he makes a distinction between passions and reason. He Points out that reason is a slave to the passions. Reason is what directs our judgment, concerning causes and effects (p.461). These causes and effects are what directs our reason. There are some who object to this theory that Hume presents saying Surely reason is not always the slave of the passions for sometimes I act against my passions just to be reasonable. Though this objection might seem to have validity it can be seen as faulty by paying close attention to Humes section on the influencing motives of the will. The key to this argument is that the person is not acting just to be reasonable. It is that they are acting out of a secondary passion, which can be nature, good, or aversion to evil. It is the passion and not the reason that is causing the way the person chooses to act. Reason cant alone produce an action only desire can move the action of the will. It is important to also distinguish the that there are types of passions or desires, those that are originally implanted in our natures and those which are a result of the general appetite to good and the aversion to evil (p.464). The first is desire is inborn. If someone were offered 100 dollars to jump off of a building, any sane person would say no. This is because they have a natural desire to stay alive also known as the law of self-preservation. This desire is innate and is implanted in us from birth. Other natural desires are those of hunger, thirst, and sleep. The passions, which result from the appetite to good, could be considered as desires of self-advancement for example. This can be anywhere from a person trying to receive a higher salary at their job to someone trying to receive the most recognition in their field. This appetite for good cannot be considered as natural instinct. This is because it is society that exemplifies what is good a...