On Hume's Emotivism Ethical Thought

David Hume is a famous British philosopher and ethicist in 18th century.Hume's ethical thought plays a very important role in western ethics history; it's avital link between the preceding and the following. By analyzing Hume'semotionalist moral thought, I aim at getting some useful inspiration for ourcountry's moral construction.Hume's ethical thought consists of moral fundamental theory and virtue ethics.Hume's moral fundamental theory embodies the following aspects: 1.As for theorigin of moral, Hume thinks that moral is built on sense perception and independentof reason. Moral is generated from sense instead of from judgment. This is the baseof Hume's moral philosophical thought. 2. Hume believes that usefulness andagreeableness are the standards of virtue. Hume's moral philosophy is built onhuman nature; the treatise of moral meaning is based on human nature, e.g. self-love,mercy, sympathy principle and comparison principle. I make a study of inherent oracquired morality—in the chapter of David Hume's Justice. Hume holds the view thatinherent morality is natural virtues, which originates from human's primeval instinctand needn't participate in human's behavior. The genesis of inherent morality isnatural, and people naturally praise it. He also thinks that human's capacity is a kindof inherent morality, and it indicates that he broadens the concept of morality to apossible extent. In order to cope with human environment, human beings set upacquired morality, whose rule is generated from human measure and design. Hume'acquired morality has the character of being artificial and mutually beneficial.These argumentations constitute Hume's particular ethical thought, whichweakens the purity of traditional virtue ethics and enlightens the thought on modernnormative ethics. It plays an important role in history and is still useful for us.