Passions and the Principle of Reflection in the Sermons of J. Butler
Keywords:
Butler, conscience, passions, affections, human natureAbstract
An important part of the work of Bishop Joseph Butler is focused on the analysis of human nature whose knowledge is of utmost importance for morality. The nature of man, says Butler, is a system or constitution formed, in part, by a set of appetites, passions and affections, and in part by a principle of reflection or conscience with their relationship marked by mutual respect and by the natural superiority of consciousness. Passions, but subject to the rational order, are necessary, are as essential as the proper order. Although man cannot ever reach perfection, when the principle of reflection directs, correcting any excesses of passion, man is virtuous. The article aims to show the basic principles of human nature and explore the role the passions have in it
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References
BRINTON, A.: «‘Following Nature’ in Butler’s Sermons», en The Philosophical Quarterly 41 (1991) 164, pp. 325-332.
DUNCAN-JONES, A.: Butler’s Moral Philosophy, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1952.
HENSON, R. G.: «Butler on Selfishness and Self-Love», en Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 49 (1988) 1, pp. 31-57.
MILLAR, A.: «Following Nature», en The Philosophical Quarterly 38 (1988), pp. 165-185.
MOSES, S.: «“Keaping the Heart”: Natural Affection in Joseph Butler’s Approach to Virtue», en Journal of Religious Ethics 37 (2009) 4, pp. 613-629.
PENELHUM, T.: Butler, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1985. The Works of Joseph Butler, Ed. by William Tegg, London, 1867, reproduced by elibron Classics series, 2006.
TOWNSEND, H. G.: «The Synthetic Principle in Butler’s Ethics», en Internacional Journal of Ethics 37 (1926) 1, pp. 81-87.
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