Abstract

The article develops the idea that Hume's relevance for contemporary moral philosophy is connected with the general sense of his ethics. Also the analytic proposals of Hume - for example on the motivations of the moral behavior, the role of sympathy and of sentiments in moral judgments, the distinction between is and ought, the centrality of the character for the virtues - gain meaning and insight as parts of the general philosophical project to construct a scientific and secular explanation of human moral life. In this context Hume developed a naturalistic and experimental characterization of morality in terms of a peculiar kind of reflective sentimentalism.