--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The rules of morality are not the…" description: "\"The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.\" — David Hume" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg" --- # The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason. ![“The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg) > “The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Morality stems from sentiment and social experience, not pure logical deduction. **In simple terms:** Morality is based on feelings, not reason. Key Takeaway Recognize emotions in ethical judgments. Themes ethics human nature reason sentiment Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal relationships - lawmaking - public policy - education Key Concepts moral psychology emotivism Questions to Reflect On - How do emotions shape your sense of right and wrong? - Can reason ever fully justify moral claims? A Different Perspective Moral reasoning alone cannot resolve all ethical dilemmas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [Morals excite passions, and produce or prevent actions. Reason of itself is utterly impotent in this particular. The rules of morality, therefore, are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/morals-excite-passions-and-produce-or-prevent-actions-reason-of/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In the business arena, the standard rules of morality don't apply. What we're really looking for is efficiency. It doesn't do anyone any good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/in-the-business-arena-the-standard-rules-of-morality-don-t-apply-what/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Religion is not a conclusion of the reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/religion-is-not-a-conclusion-of-the-reason/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [I've come to the conclusion that the reason why we didn't work out isn't because I'm not good enough for you, but because I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-come-to-the-conclusion-that-the-reason-why-we-didn-t-work-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Was it through reason that I arrived at the necessity of loving my neighbor and not throttling him?...Not reason. Reason discovered the struggle for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/was-it-through-reason-that-i-arrived-at-the-necessity-of-loving-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [He sees such a desperate rapaciousness prevail; such a disregard to equity, such contempt of order, such stupid blindness to future consequences, as must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/he-sees-such-a-desperate-rapaciousness-prevail-such-a-disregard-to/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Any legitimate religion consists of rules of morality linked by love. That's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-wayne-white/any-legitimate-religion-consists-of-rules-of-morality-linked-by-love/) [Randy Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-wayne-white/) > [Every man should follow the bent of his nature in art and letters, always provided that he does not offend against the rules of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-should-follow-the-bent-of-his-nature-in-art-and-letters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man, in his own opinion, forms an exception to the ordinary rules of morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/every-man-in-his-own-opinion-forms-an-exception-to-the-ordinary-rules/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“There is no morality to be found in evil. But to recognise that which is truly evil one must forget the rules of morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/there-is-no-morality-to-be-found-in-evil-but-to-recognise-that-which/) [Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/) > [The alcoholic and the drug addict harm only themselves by their behavior; the person who violates the rules of morality governing mans life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-alcoholic-and-the-drug-addict-harm-only-themselves-by-their/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Even though we have lost yardsticks by which to measure, and rules under which to subsume the particular, a being whose essence is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/even-though-we-have-lost-yardsticks-by-which-to-measure-and-rules/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Life is two things. Life is morality – life is adventure. Squire and master. Adventure rules, and morality looks up the trains in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-two-things-life-is-morality-life-is-adventure-squire-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is an inconvenience which attends all abstruse reasoning. that it may silence, without convincing an antagonist, and requires the same intense study to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-an-inconvenience-which-attends-all-abstruse-reasoning-that/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [... if you insist that the inference is made by a chain of reasoning, I desire you to produce that reasoning. The connection between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/if-you-insist-that-the-inference-is-made-by-a-chain-of-reasoning-i/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may conclude, therefore, that, in order to establish laws for the regulation of property, we must be acquainted with the nature and situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-conclude-therefore-that-in-order-to-establish-laws-for-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-observation-of-human-blindness-and-weakness-is-the-result-of-all/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Manufacturers...gradually shift their places, leaving those countries and provinces which they have already enriched, and flying to others, whether they are allured by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/manufacturers-gradually-shift-their-places-leaving-those-countries/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“The most perfect happiness, surely, must arise from the contemplation of the most perfect object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-most-perfect-happiness-surely-must-arise-from-the-contemplation/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“They all make up new species of crime and bring unhappiness in their train. When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Conclusion quotes > [I'm not going to be part of looking at information only partially. I'm not going to be part of just coming to quick conclusions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cleland/i-m-not-going-to-be-part-of-looking-at-information-only-partially-i-m/) [Max Cleland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cleland/) > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Your deeper sense isn’t a springboard; it’s a landing place. If you draw conclusions too quickly or too slowly, you’ll establish your self where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/your-deeper-sense-isn-t-a-springboard-it-s-a-landing-place-if-you/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wolfe/every-study-on-chocolate-is-pointing-to-the-same-conclusion-there-is/) [David Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wolfe/) > [I have come to the definite conclusion that musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability which can be developed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichi-suzuki/i-have-come-to-the-definite-conclusion-that-musical-ability-is-not-an/) [Shinichi Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichi-suzuki/) > [Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/study-how-a-society-uses-its-land-and-you-can-come-to-pretty-reliable/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That's what politics is. It's the story of what's happening, what does it mean, what's the conclusion, who are the interesting characters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickerson/that-s-what-politics-is-it-s-the-story-of-what-s-happening-what-does/) [John Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickerson/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [If you jump to conclusion you can't step on a clue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-santinello/if-you-jump-to-conclusion-you-can-t-step-on-a-clue/) [James Santinello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-santinello/) > [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 1,619 Conclusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclusion-of-our-reason/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conclusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclusion-of-our-reason/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/david-hume-538_conclusion_the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclu_2695000.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.” — David Hume", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Hume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The rules of morality are not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclusion-of-our-reason/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-rules-of-morality-are-not-the-conclusion-of-our-reason/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```