Moral philosophy is nothing else but the science of what is good, and evil, in the conversation, and society of mankind. Good, and evil, are names that signify our appetites, and aversions; which in different tempers, customs, and doctrines of men, are different.
Interpretation
Moral philosophy explores the definitions of good and evil as they relate to human desires and societal norms.
In this quote, Thomas Hobbes emphasizes that moral philosophy is a discipline that seeks to understand the concepts of good and evil as they manifest in human interactions and society. He suggests that these notions are not absolute but are shaped by individual appetites, aversions, and the varying temperaments and customs of different cultures, highlighting the subjective nature of morality.
In practice
In a lecture on ethics, one might quote Hobbes to illustrate how moral values are socially constructed.
Baptism is the sacrament of allegiance of them that are to be received into the Kingdom of God, that is to say, into Eternal life, that is to say, to Remission of Sin. For as Eternal life was lost by the committing, so it is recovered by the remitting of men's sins.
Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.
For it is not the shape, but their use, that makes them angels.
For to accuse requires less eloquence, such is man's nature, than to excuse; and condemnation, than absolution, more resembles justice.
Scientia potentia est, sed parva; quia scientia egregia rara est, nec proinde apparens nisi paucissimis, et in paucis rebus. Scientiae enim ea natura est, ut esse intelligi non possit, nisi ab illis qui sunt scientia praediti.
The end of knowledge is power ... the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action or thing to be done.
The darkness of death is like the evening twilight; it makes all objects appear more lovely to the dying.
If few can stand a long war without deterioration of soul, none can stand a long peace.
We declared war on terror-it's not even a noun, so, good luck.
Our whole being is nothing but a fight against the dark forces within ourselves.
The time will come when all people will view with horror light way in which society and its courts of law now take human life; and when that time comes, the way will be clear to device some better method of dealing with poverty and ignorance and their frequent byproducts, which we call crime.
Our civilization is still in a middle stage, scarcely beast, in that it is no longer wholly guided by instinct; scarcely human, in that it is not yet wholly guided by reason.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.