Hume's Sympathy Analysis

There have been a number of challenges questioning Hume’s sympathy. Some questioned the subjectivity of sympathy, since there should be an objective basis for moral evaluation, and sentiments, being the product of sympathy which is subjective to some extent, is not entirely an objective basis for moral evaluation. Some others challenged Hume with the “virtue in rags” argument, which suggests that sometimes good motives do not bring about pleasure in anyone, but we still approve of such motives, which is inexplicable by Hume’s sympathy. Another challenge is called the weak sympathy problem, which challenges Hume’s sympathy by pointing out that Hume only allows us to sympathize with others at a particular instant, and the object of sympathy is