Shaftesbury’s Science of Happiness

2019 ◽  
pp. 89-117
Author(s):  
Tim Stuart-Buttle
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Substantive Content ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
History Of ◽  
Moral Teachings ◽  
Moral Philosophers

This chapter focuses on Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury. It recovers the interpretative importance of Shaftesbury’s profound classicism—in particular, his admiration for the ancient Stoic moral philosophers—for an understanding of his philosophical objectives, and it challenges the general tendency of recent scholarship to marginalize or ignore the substantive content of that philosophy. It argues that Shaftesbury’s classicism finds its most important context, and his vindication of Stoicism and contempt for the moral teachings of Christianity its contemporary significance, in Locke’s distinctive treatment of classical moral philosophy. Precisely because scholars have paid scant attention to the latter, they have failed to comprehend the novelty and importance of the former. Shaftesbury’s admiration for Stoicism also informed his highly distinctive narrative of the history of philosophy, which emphasized how Christianity had misappropriated ancient moral philosophy for its own (worldly) purposes.

Tübingen Lectures

2020 ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Frederick C. Beiser
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Lecture Series ◽  
History Of

This chapter is a survey of Strauß’s early lectures in Tübingen. It first considers the context of Strauß’s lectures and their success with the audience. It then examines the question of why Strauß, after such initial success, abandoned his career as a lecturer. There follows a brief summary of the three lecture series: the 1832 lectures on logic and metaphysics, which were primarily an exposition of Hegel’s Wissenschaft der Logik; the 1832–3 lectures on the history of philosophy since Kant, which give us Strauß’s own views about the history of philosophy, though they are still heavily influenced by Hegel; and the 1833 lectures on the history of moral philosophy.

From Moral Theology to Moral Philosophy

2019 ◽  
pp. 179-222
Author(s):  
Tim Stuart-Buttle
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Human Tendency ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cause Of Error ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Empirical Methodology ◽  
Civil Societies

Hume gave more attention, and wrote more extensively, on the relationship between moral theology and moral philosophy than on any other issue. In doing so, he made clear the importance of Cicero—when interpreted as an academic sceptic—to the explanations he formulated. Hume quite explicitly identified his own variant of sceptical philosophy with Cicero’s, and argued that it alone was consistent with the empirical methodology upon which the ‘science of man’ had to be constructed. In contrast to Locke—with whose moral theory he engaged more closely than scholars have recognized—Hume argued that Cicero justified a complete conceptual separation between the realms of morality and religion. This informed Hume’s narrative of the history of philosophy, which identified the pathological human tendency to demand certainty and to avoid doubt as the greatest cause of error and disruptive of the ties which held people together in civil societies.

How to Deal with Kant's Racism—In and Out of the Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-135
Author(s):  
Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Character ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Racial Thought ◽  
Enlightenment Philosophy

The question of how we should engage with a philosopher’s racial thought is of particular importance when considering Kant, who can be viewed as particularly representative of Enlightenment philosophy. In this article I argue that we should take a stance of deep acknowledgment when considering Kant’s work both inside and outside the classroom. Taking a stance of deep acknowledgment should be understood as 1) taking Kant’s racial thought to be reflective of his moral character, 2) Kant being accountable for his racial thought and 3) being willing to consider the possibility that Kant’s racial thought is consistent with and inextricable from his moral philosophy. Alternative forms of engaging with Kant’s racial work have either moral or pedagogical failings, which range from simply teaching the history of philosophy uncritically to outright deception. A stance of deep acknowledgement will allow philosophers to understand how Kant’s racial thought interacts with his moral philosophy and allow instructors to teach philosophy in a historically contextualized approach so as to not alienate students whose demographic was disparaged by Kant.

scholarly journals Damaris Masham, Ralph Cudworth and John Locke: Some Philosophical Continuities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-35
Author(s):  
Sarah Hutton
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
John Locke ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ralph Cudworth ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper, I focus on Damaris Masham, to re-consider the relationship of her philosophy to the two philosophers with whom she was most closely associated: John Locke, and her father, the Cambridge Platonist, Ralph Cudworth. After considering some of the problems of interpretation which have arisen in scholarly debates, I focus her Occasional Thoughts to highlight continuities with both Locke and Cudworth in her epistemology, moral philosophy and metaphysics. I argue these show that Damaris Masham’s philosophy does not fit the received categories of empiricist or rationalist of the dominant narrative. Her position requires us to reconsider not just the relationship of her philosophy to that of Cudworth and Locke, but also of the relationship of Cudworth and Locke. Ultimately, therefore, reintegrating women into the history of philosophy challenges us to rethink standard narratives of the history of philosophy.

Locke on Personal Identity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galen Strawson ◽  
Galen Strawson
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
Fundamental Point ◽  
Legal Term ◽  
Word Consciousness ◽  
History Of

John Locke's theory of personal identity underlies all modern discussion of the nature of persons and selves—yet it is widely thought to be wrong. This book argues that in fact it is Locke's critics who are wrong, and that the famous objections to his theory are invalid. Indeed, far from refuting Locke, they illustrate his fundamental point. The book argues that the root error is to take Locke's use of the word “person” as merely a term for a standard persisting thing, like “human being.” In actuality, Locke uses “person” primarily as a forensic or legal term geared specifically to questions about praise and blame, punishment and reward. This point is familiar to some philosophers, but its full consequences have not been worked out, partly because of a further error about what Locke means by the word “consciousness.” When Locke claims that your personal identity is a matter of the actions that you are conscious of, he means the actions that you experience as your own in some fundamental and immediate manner. Clearly and vigorously argued, this is an important contribution both to the history of philosophy and to the contemporary philosophy of personal identity.

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