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Three Sermons on Human Nature and a Dissertation Upon the Nature of Virtue (Classic Reprint)
by Joseph Butler
Excerpt from Three Sermons on Human Nature and a Dissertation Upon the Nature of Virtue
It is not to be supposed that the contracted Spirit which Butler laments was in reality based upon a con sistent philosophy. Its most congenial literary expres sion was the Maxims Of Rochefoucauld, or perhaps the Fable of the Bees in which Mandeville maintained not without wit, that moral codes are either pernicious restraints upon human energies or artful impositions by statesmen upon the common herd. Nevertheless this fasionable cynicism did frequently profess to be founded on a philosophy - upon the philosophy Of Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes was its putative if not its real father.
Hobbism is the theory which Butler attempts to meet and overthrow.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comwww.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
It is not to be supposed that the contracted Spirit which Butler laments was in reality based upon a con sistent philosophy. Its most congenial literary expres sion was the Maxims Of Rochefoucauld, or perhaps the Fable of the Bees in which Mandeville maintained not without wit, that moral codes are either pernicious restraints upon human energies or artful impositions by statesmen upon the common herd. Nevertheless this fasionable cynicism did frequently profess to be founded on a philosophy - upon the philosophy Of Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes was its putative if not its real father.
Hobbism is the theory which Butler attempts to meet and overthrow.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comwww.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Paperback, 134 pages
Published October 4th 2018 by Forgotten Books
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Joseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage, Berkshire, England.
He is most famous for his "Fifteen Sermons on Human Nature" (1726) and "Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed" (1736). The Analogy is an important work of Christian apologetics in the history of the controversies over Deism. Butler’s apologetic concentrated on discerning analogies to the death and resurrection of Christ in the natural world (such as the caterpillar turning into a butterfly). Butler’s arguments combined a cumulative case for faith using probabilistic reasoning to persuade Deists and others to reconsider orthodox faith. Aspects of his apologetic reasoning are reflected in the writings of twentieth century Christian apologists such as C. S. Lewis and John Warwick Montgomery.
The "Sermons on Human Nature" is commonly studied as an answer to Hobbes’ philosophy of ethical egoism. These two books are considered by his proponents to be among the most powerful and original contributions to ethics, apologetics and theology which have ever been made. They depend for their effect entirely upon the force of their reasoning, for they have no graces of style.
Butler died in 1752 in Bath, Somerset. His admirers praise him as an excellent man, and a diligent and conscientious churchman. Though indifferent to general literature, he had some taste in the fine arts, especially architecture.
In the calendars of the Anglican communion his feast day is June 16.
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