A Treatise of Human Nature · Chapter
Section II: The Same Subject Continued explained
Hume continues his discussion on liberty and necessity, arguing that the doctrine of necessity is not only compatible with morality and religion but essential to them.
What happens
Hume continues his discussion on liberty and necessity, arguing that the doctrine of necessity is not only compatible with morality and religion but essential to them. He addresses three reasons for the prevalence of the liberty doctrine, including the confusion between spontaneity and indifference, a false sensation of liberty, and religious concerns. He defines necessity in two ways, both consistent with his theory of causation, and asserts that without necessity, moral responsibility and justice would be impossible.
Themes in this chapter
Custom and General Rules
Hume's argument relies on the constant conjunction of motives and actions, which is a matter of custom and habit, forming the basis of necessity.
Morality as Sentiment
Hume argues that moral responsibility depends on the connection between actions and character, which is only possible under necessity.
Characters to notice
- David Hume
Author and primary voice, arguing for the doctrine of necessity and its compatibility with morality and religion.
Key passages
“According to the hypothesis of liberty, therefore, a man is as pure and untainted, after having committed the most horrid crimes, as at the first moment of his birth, nor is his character any way concerned in his actions; since they are not derived from it, and the wickedness of the one can never be used as a proof of the depravity of the other.”
If liberty (as chance) were true, a person would be morally clean even after terrible crimes, because their actions wouldn't reflect their character.
Hume argues that liberty undermines moral responsibility.
“I define necessity two ways, conformable to the two definitions of cause, of which it makes an essential part. I place it either in the constant union and conjunction of like objects, or in the inference of the mind from the one to the other.”
I define necessity in two ways, matching the two definitions of cause: as constant conjunction of similar objects, or as the mind's inference from one to the other.
Hume clarifies his definition of necessity, aligning it with his theory of causation.