Identifying the moral sense: Case studies in resistance to tyranny

This study focuses on four individuals who resisted tyranny under Hitler during National Socialism. These four resisters: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sophie Scholl, Karel Čapek, and Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, were selected based on their varying backgrounds. It is the purpose of this study to identify a correlating motive within all four individuals that transcends their age, background, culture, and gender. An explanation of why these four people resisted Hitler can be explained by Francis Hutcheson and the moral sense. Also, our admiration for these individuals will also be addressed in Adam Smith’s philosophy of sympathy. It is the intent of this study to look within the Scottish Enlightenment philosophy of Francis Hutcheson and Adam Smith, for a better understanding of why people risked their lives for humanity.