A Comparison Of Aristotle And David Hume

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Aristotle & David Hume
Aristotle and David Hume share very clashing views on morality. Aristotle and Hume both believe in the possibility of being a virtuous person and both emphasize importance when it comes to reason, but their respective definitions of what virtue and reason actually mean differ drastically. Aristotle believes all human actions aim at some good, while Hume believes the reason behind everything is arithmetic and that human passions rule over reason. There is one supreme good according to Aristotle, but Hume believes what is good and bad all depends on perception. Both Aristotle and Hume take on the same topics in regards to morality, but take very different approaches.
Aristotle believes all actions aim at some good, but …show more content…

Aristotle believes that right and wrong decisions exist, while according to Hume, judging someone is basically impossible because humans make decisions based on their passions, and one cannot judge someone else based off their passions. All human actions aim at some good according to Aristotle, but finding the mean in all actions is nearly impossible. When one finds the mean in all things and is aware of their quality, then Aristotle believes one has achieved happiness or supreme good. Instead of a supreme good, Hume believes that passions a fall subordinate to one 's will. For example, if one has a passion to murder someone then they will decide to kill people. Hume’s views on decision making connect directly to his theory about judgement, because all human perceptions differ when it comes to all things, including murder. Both Aristotle and Hume believe that one can attain the quality of being a virtuous person, but what virtue means is different according to the two philosophers. Aristotle believes one is virtuous when they have found the mean in all things and have achieved the qualities of nobility and kindness. Hume also believes that kindness matters when deeming one virtuous or vile, but Hume does not believe one must find the mean in anything. Hume simply believes that one must be a benevolent person and have benevolent desires to be considered virtuous. Aristotle and Hume share clashing views about the same parts of morality, the two drastically differ in regards explaining judgement, reasoning, and how to be

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