Hume on Motivating Sentiments, the General Point of View, and the Inculcation of "Morality"

Abstract

That Hume's theory can be interpreted in two widely divergent ways-as a version of sentimentalism and as an ideal observer theory-is symptomatic of a puzzle ensconced in Hume's theory. How can the ground of morality be internal and motivating (as Hume says) when an inference to the feelings of a spectator in "the general point of view" is typically necessary to get to genuine moral distinctions (as Hume implies when he says we rarely achieve the general point of view)? This paper considers and rejects the suggestion that in moral education, for Hume, the inculcation of morality internalizes the sentiments of the ideal observer. It ultimately offers a different resolution of the conflicting strains.