'Is & Ought' in David Hume

[Mudhammam]

I have no difficulty in translating descriptive statements into prescriptive ones, for example, such as:

Every human being desires a modicum of happiness (including but not limited to pleasure, health, friendship, etc.). When there are opportunities to fulfill such desires, human beings tend towards them. Therefore, every human being acts to fulfill his or her conception of happiness.

This means, essentially, if you want to possess a state of happiness (and everyone does), then you ought to pursue that which stands to actualize what it is you want.

Clearly, our conceptions about what brings about maximum happiness, and the actions that one can take to fulfill this want, form much of the debate. I believe one can be wrong about what it is they think maximum happiness is and entails, but establishing the truth or falsity of a given conception of maximum happiness in a universal sense is much harder to do since in reality we are dealing with particular persons in particular situations. That said, I believe it can be done, and even if one denies this, the affirmation or denial still requires a context of an absolute objective---that either some notion of the good life as an end applies equally to all or conversely that it only applies to each individual relative to their own goals. (I.e. you cannot deny absolutes without doing so absolutely, and if your denial is only true relative to yourself, there's no reason anyone else must agree).