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Full-Text Articles in History of Philosophy
Smithian Sympathy And The Emergence Of Norms, Keith Hankins
Smithian Sympathy And The Emergence Of Norms, Keith Hankins
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
Adam Smith's impartial spectator and David Hume's general point of view have much in common, as do their moral theories more generally. However, this paper argues that a distinctive feature of Smith's theory—the pleasure of mutual sympathy—allows Smith to better explain a number of important features of norms. In particular, it provides Smith with a more plausible mechanism for explaining how norms emerge, and offers him a richer set of resources for explaining both why we are attracted to norms and why norms are often characterized by local similarity and global diversity. Rather than merely being a matter of historical …
Degrees Of Altruism As Dependent Upon Degrees Of Relations, Bobbi Jackson
Degrees Of Altruism As Dependent Upon Degrees Of Relations, Bobbi Jackson
Theses
In David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature (1738), he asserts that humans act most altruistically toward people in the closest relations to us, e.g., in family or friendship relations, and somewhat less so toward those who are merely in our own ethnic group, of our own nationality, etc., and least altruistically toward people in the most distant relations to us. But, current empirical data appears to indicate vast multitudes of exceptions to Hume's claim. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to determine the cause of this apparent conflict and suggest potential solutions that might allow Hume's theory …