Book 3, Part 1, Of Virtue and Vice in General Summary and Analysis

Book III, 'Of Morals,' rounds out the Treatise. Hume is concerned to outline the basic features of morality and wants to know how individuals make moral distinctions. He also believes that moral distinctions arise only under certain circumstances and he wants to figure out what those circumstances are. Hume again emphasizes the distinction between impression and ideas and holds that all of human action is originally determined by perception. Since all ideas and impressions begin with perceptions, which impressions or ideas help us to divide virtue from vice?

Hume wants to answer this question because he is interested in the foundations of morality and he wants to argue that morality is not based on reason. He also has a general goal in the Treatise to explain...