The Moral Sense
The Moral Sense, written by James Q. Wilson, disagrees with previous philosophers such as Marx and Hobbes as it illustrates that all humans are capable of potential good. On the other hand, Marx and Hobbes pointed out that any acts of kindness come from the self interest of the individual. Wilson believes that humans have a connection between their morals and their human nature. This connection opposes that of previous philosophers for they separated the theories of human nature and morals. This conclusion by Wilson expresses his belief that all individuals have the skills and talents to be an all-round good person. Wilson introduces the four moral sentiments of sympathy, fairness, self-control, and duty. However, sympathy is the strongest sentiment for it is the basis for the other three sentiments to be formed. Following Adam Smith, Wilson favers that sympathy serves both as an important standard for moral judgments and as a motive for moral action: feeling another's pain, we find ourselves compelled to alleviate his suffering or take revenge on his persecutor. Wilson identifies sympathy as "the human capacity for being affected by the feelings and experiences of others" (Wilson 30). Sympathy can be seen as a device
Humans have to feel an obligation to the situation in order to feel any sympathy for the situation. Using the four moral sentiments and the four sources of morals, Wilson derives an excellent definition of moral sense stating that it is the ability to know right from wrong and knowledge to accept the appropriate human nature for the individual. Without sympathy all the other sentiments would be extremely complicated and near close to impossible. Situations like an old lady being robbed, excites sympathy and not just the thought of sympathy causes reaction. Character is the combination of traits and qualities that people see in an individual. Wilson also exemplifies an idea of the human balance sheet. to moderate human brutality and offensiveness. Wilson believes that the social animal concept is something that is apparent through nature versus by accident. This concept of a balance sheet weighs out the strengths and weaknesses that a human possesses. Our families have an enormous part on our lives and our human nature. Evidence is clearly visible when one watches the news and sees a family crying because one of their family members is missing. He explains that our families and cultures instill many of the morals that we adopt. The idea of fairness keeps people working together and cooperating with each other for they feel as if they are on the same level with others. The next source of the moral sense is gender. Wilson trusts that humans are not completely self righteous and that incapable of goodness but that they have the potential to obtain the virtue of being a good person.
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