One commonplace reason why Americans lack confidence in the future is because they see who is in charge, and what sort of behavior elicits approval, in the present.
We call the traits that elicit our approval "virtues," and those that elicit our disapproval "vices".
Only empirical inquiry can establish reliable ways to elicit the approval of taste.
According to Hume, traits be they feelings, motives, or abilities that elicit our approval are those that are useful or agreeable to oneself or others; those that elicit our disapproval are those that are harmful or unpleasant for oneself or others.
But seeking authorization for a military strike against Syria marks the first time that a modern-day president has taken the initiative to elicit legislative approval for a military action that, by the President's own reckoning, will neither be a prolonged, nor a boots-on-the-ground operation.
John Dryden, after having consulted with Milton and elicited his approval, adapted the epic to heroic couplets, the measure that characterized much verse in that era.
An act or opinion that elicits vigorous approval within this community might set off a tsunami of outrage outside of it, a disconnect that many tech elites seem unaware of.
For every virtue, therefore, there must be some non-moral motive that characteristically motivates actions expressive of that virtue, which motive, by eliciting our approval, makes the actions so motivated virtuous.
This step elicited 79percentt approval (81percentt of Republicans, 78percentt of Democrats).
With the phenomenon now repeated in the 21st century, it's instantly understandable how effective it is when casts play directly to the crowds, often eliciting vocal approval or disapproval of the characters' behavior and to their cultural and political attitudes.
