An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

What it is

An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals is a book by David Hume, first published in 1751, following on from his earlier Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In it Hume reworks and expands ideas on ethics he had first explored in A Treatise of Human Nature.

Why it matters

Hume argues that moral judgments come from feeling and sentiment, not from reason alone, and that sympathy for others, not pure self-interest, shapes much of our sense of right and wrong. In his short autobiography, Hume called this 'of all my writings... incomparably the best'. The book reveals Hume's lifelong project: building an account of human morality from observation of how people actually think and feel, rather than from abstract rules.

Look closer

• Why does Hume think reason alone cannot tell us what is right or wrong?
• What role does 'sympathy' play in his account of morality?
• Why might Hume have considered this book his best work, even though the Treatise is more studied today?