Proceedings of the 2025 11th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research（ICHSSR 2025)

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Emotional Resonance and Moral Consensus: A Modern Critique and Reconstruction of Hume’s Theory of Sympathy

Authors
Wenqi Bi1, *
1School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University, Jinan, China
*Corresponding author. Email: 202310002@mail.sdu.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Wenqi Bi
Available Online 10 July 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_70How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Hume; Theory of Sympathy; Moral Philosophy; Sentimentalism; Modernity Crisis
Abstract

The principle of subjectivity established by the Enlightenment, while driving social progress, has also caused deep-seated splits in modern society. The dichotomy between cognitive and value subjects has led to crises of atomized individualism and nihilism. Reflecting on Hume’s theory of sympathy provides a unique perspective for addressing these modern issues. Through the mechanism of “sympathy”, Hume reveals how emotional resonance can break down the isolation of atomized individuals, promoting a shift from narrow sympathy to broader empathy, and forming a dynamic moral generation model through rational reflection and social habituation, thereby bridging the gap between cognitive subjects and value subjects. However, Hume’s theory struggles with moral objectivity due to emotional subjectivity and historical contingency. Smith’s “impartial spectator” perspective and Kant’s rationalism provide partial solutions but still expose the tension between sentimentalism and rationalism. Therefore, moral objectivity needs to be reconstructed in the dynamic balance between emotional connections and rational norms, offering a complementary path that combines Hume’s emotional warmth with Kant’s rational framework.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 11th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research（ICHSSR 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
10 July 2025
ISBN
978-2-38476-440-2
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_70How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Wenqi Bi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/10
TI  - Emotional Resonance and Moral Consensus: A Modern Critique and Reconstruction of Hume’s Theory of Sympathy
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 11th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research（ICHSSR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 627
EP  - 640
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_70
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_70
ID  - Bi2025
ER  -