Hume’s law

TIL Hume's Is-Ought Problem

Hume argued we can't logically move from describing what is (facts) to prescribing what ought to be (morals) without additional justification.

Example:

• Is: "Humans can eat meat."

• Ought: "Therefore, humans should eat meat."

This leap assumes a value (e.g., "following nature is good") but doesn't state it.

This is also called fact-value distinction.

Hume believed this gap exists because moral actions aren't driven by reason alone--they're ultimately guided by sentiment. Reason shows us facts, but it's our feelings that motivate what we think ought to happen.

What we do and say are driven by sentiment / feelings, not facts.