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SUBJEGTZVI8T THEORY OF ETHICS 361
since it is only in the pursuit and achievement of knowledge
that man's spirit escapes from bondage to what is outside
itself, and attains the true freedom of self-fulfilment. "You
shall know the truth/ 9
Spinoza writes, "and the truth
shall make you free."
The issues raised by Spinoza's philosophy are primarily
metaphysical and cannot be pursued here. I have included
the foregoing passage in order that I might exonerate
myself from the charge of having presented a one-sided
view of Spinoza's ethics. For my present purpose, it is the
Subjectivism and Egoism of Spinoza which are important,
because they constitute a striking example of the view
that the statement "X is good" means "X produces
a feeling of approval in me".
. II. SUBJECTIVIST-UTILITARIAN
ETHICS
Hume's Account of Good. Hobbes's and Spinoza's
ethics appear within our framework as examples of Sub-
jective-Intuitionism. As an illustration of Subjective-
Utilitarianism, I propose briefly to consider the ethical
theory of Hume (1711-1776). TTie difference between the
views of Hobbes and Spinoza, on the one hand, and of .
Hume, on the other,
is one of form rather than of sub-
stance. Formally, it may be put as follows. A good action
for Hobbes and Spinoza is one of which I approve; a
of which
good action for Hume is one which has consequences
I, or rather, of which most men, approve, either because
they are pleasant, or because they are useful useful being
defined by Hume as meaning conducive to pleasure. The
difference is, I repeat, largely one of form, since although
Hobbes and Spinoza define good as that of which I
approve, they would agree that I only do approve of
that which I believe will have pleasurable consequences
to myself,
Hume, however, introduces a new factor into subjectivist
theory which foreshadows the views which Bentham
Mi