Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.

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David Humes 

• A belief (in contrast to greek rationalist traditions) that our lives and the basis of our morality are inevitably rooted in feeling.
• A good feeling signals virtue, whilst a bad signals vice. 

Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.

  As logical as we believe ourselves to be, we humans have emotions. We are unlike machines that run only on reason, where morality becomes our shackles to all that we do. Like the laws of society, where did they all emerge? 

  It had to initially be felt by the human heart. We should not kill, because of the consequence, that we deprive another of their life, that the authority to do so lies beyond ours. However, if there is no harm but benefits like eating a pet that has died naturally (horse, dog...) we still have this faint feeling that it is wrong. 

  Because of our affection to that animal, we feel the need to respect its dead body - it's wrong because it feels wrong, no logic explains this. Thence, we bury our affections with respect and carry out actions (moral) based on our feelings.

  As much as humans disdain the unpredictability of emotions, we should be aware that they have such a power. Our evolved emotions have a commanding hold on out sense of how the world should be. 

  Social values have thus be built over time, reinforced when the good or bad feelings by multiple people over the same situations exist. 

  As a side note (for the religious ones): this reminds me of the moving of human hearts by the holy spirit. This yearning and gut feeling is what the Lord has gifted that allows us to know His will.