Hume on justice

Rosalind Hursthouse

pp. 264-276

in: Charles R. Pigden (ed), Hume on motivation and virtue, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009

Abstract

As everyone knows, Hume begins his discussion of justice in the Treatise by claiming "that no action can be virtuous or morally good, unless there be in human nature some motive to produce it, distinct from the sense of its morality" (T, 3.2.1.7/479). He recognises that this makes for a "great difficulty" because, in the case of just actions, it seems that my motive for them is my regard for justice, which is not distinct from my sense of their morality, their justice.

Cited authors

Hume David