Abstract

D.D. Raphael

The Virtue of TMS 1759

The title of my paper is deliberately paradoxical.  The specific concept of virtue is the subject of the new Part VI in the sixth edition of TMS, making this edition superior to the earlier version.  The first edition has a further deficiency, noted by Hume, of apparent inconsistency on the hedonic quality of sympathy.  Nevertheless the first edition has its own virtue in two respects:  1) the language is relatively simple and at times strikingly vivid;  and 2) the role given to sympathy is distinctly original and pretty persuasive.  These features were responsible for the popularity of the book on its first appearance.