Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES OF MORALS (EPM) is one of the cornerstone texts in Western philosophy and is written with Hume’s characteristic combination of incisive analysis and charming style. Hume’s goal is to describe the bases of human moral conduct. As stated by Tom Beauchamp, EPM is descriptive rather than prescriptive. While Hume clearly has strong opinions about what constitutes appropriate moral conduct, in EPM his focus is really on moral psychology rather than moral direction.