Joseph Butler
Content
Joseph Butler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Joseph Butler, see Joseph Butler (disambiguation).
The Rt Revd
Joseph Butler
Bishop of Durham
Engraving of Butler.
Diocese
Diocese of Durham
In office
October 1750 (confirmed)[1] – 1752 (death)
Predecessor
Edward Chandler
Successor
Richard Trevor
Other posts
Bishop of Bristol (19 October 1738 {nominated}–1750)
Dean of St Paul's (24 May 1740 {installed}–1750)[1]
Personal details
Born
18 May 1692
Wantage, Berkshire, England
Died
16 June 1752 (aged 60)
Bath, Somerset, Great Britain
Buried
20 June 1752,[1] Bristol Cathedral[2]
Nationality
English (later British)
Denomination
Anglican
Residence
Rosewell House, Kingsmead Square, Bath (at death)
Parents
Thomas Butler[1]
Spouse
unmarried
Profession
theologian, apologist,philosopher (see below)
Alma mater
Oriel College, Oxford
Sainthood
Feast day
16 June (commemoration)
Joseph Butler
Era
18th-century philosophy
Region
Western Philosophy
School
British Empiricism, Christian philosophy
Influences[show]
Influenced[show]
[show]Ordination history of Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 – 16 June 1752) was an English bishop, theologian, apologist,
and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county
ofBerkshire (now Oxfordshire). He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas
Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity. During his life and after his
death, Butler influenced many philosophers, including David Hume, Thomas Reid, and Adam
Smith.
[4]
[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Life
2 Works
o 2.1 Design argument
o 2.2 Criticism of Locke
3 Death and legacy
4 Publications
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References and further reading
8 External links
Life[edit]
The son of a Presbyterian linen-draper, he was destined for the ministry of that church,
and—along with future archbishop Thomas Secker—entered Samuel Jones's dissenting
academy at Gloucester (later Tewkesbury) for that purpose. Whilst there, he entered into a
secret correspondence with the conformist controversialist Samuel Clarke; his letters were
taken to Gloucester post office by Secker, who also collected Clarke's responses from there.
Clarke later published this correspondence. In 1714, decided to enter the Church of England,
and went to Oriel College, Oxford. After holding various other high positions, he
becamerector of the rich living of Stanhope, County Durham.
In 1736 he was made the head chaplain of King George II's wife Caroline, on the advice
of Lancelot Blackburne. In 1738 he was appointed bishop of Bristol. He is said (apocryphally)
to have declined an offer to become the archbishop of Canterbury in 1747. He was
enthroned as Bishop of Durham (by proxy) on 9 November 1750.
[1]
Works[edit]
He is most famous for his Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (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's apologetic concentrated
on "the general analogy between the principles of divine government, as set forth by the
biblical revelation, and those observable in the course of nature, [an analogy which] leads us
to the warrantable conclusion that there is one Author of both." Butler's arguments
combined a cumulative case for faith using probabilistic reasoning to persuade deists and
others to reconsider orthodox faith. Overall, his two books are remarkable and original
contributions to ethics and theology. They depend for their effect entirely upon the force of
their reasoning, for they have no graces of style.
[6]
The "Sermons on Human Nature" is commonly studied as an answer to Hobbes' philosophy
of psychological egoism. These two books are considered by his followers to be among the
most powerful and original contributions to ethics, apologetics and theology which have ever
been made.
Principia Ethica title page, with Butler's epigram
Today, he is commonly cited for the blunt epigram, "Every thing is what it is, and not another
thing."
Design argument[edit]
In 1736, he inferred a form of the argument for the evidence of design: As the manifold
Appearances of Design and of final Causes, in the Constitution of the World, prove it to be
the Work of an Mind . . . The appearances of design and of final causes in the constitution of
nature as really prove this acting agent to be an . . . ten thousand thousand Instances of
Design, cannot but prove a .. William Paley taught his works and built on his design
argument using the Watchmaker analogy.
[7]
Criticism of Locke[edit]
That Personality is not a permanent, but a transient thing: That it lives and dies, begins and
ends, continually: That no one can any more remain one and the same person two Moments
together, than two successive Moments can be one and the same Moment: that our
Substance is indeed continually changing; but whether this be so or not, is, it seems, nothing
to the purpose; since it is not Substance, but Consciousness alone, which constitutes
Personality; which Consciousness, being successive, cannot be the same in any two
Moments, nor consequently the personality constituted by it." And from hence it must follow,
that it is a Fallacy upon Ourselves, to charge our present Selves with any thing we did, or to
imagine our present Selves interested in any thing which befell us, yesterday, or that our
present Self will be interested in what will befall us to morrow; since our present Self is not, in
Reality, the same with the Self of Yesterday, but another like Self or Person coming in its
Room, and mistaken for it; to which another Self will succeed to morrow.
[8]
Death and legacy[edit]
Butler died in 1752 at Rosewell House, Kingsmead Square 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.
[9]
In the calendars of the Anglican communion his feast day is 16 June.
He has his own collection of manuscripts (e.g. Lectionary 189).
Publications[edit]
Several letters to the Reverend Dr. Clarke, 1716, 1719, 1725 - reprinted in Volume 1 of
Gladstone's edition of Butler's works
Fifteen sermons preached at the Rolls Chapel, 1726, 1729, 1736, 1749, 1759, 1765,
1769, 1774, 1792
The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of
Nature, 1736, 1740, 1750, 1754, 1764, 1765, 1771, 1775, 1785, 1788, 1791, 1793,
1796, 1798
A sermon preached before the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts, 1739
A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, 1740
A sermon preached before the House of Lords, 1741, 1747
A sermon preached in the parish-church of Christ-Church, London, 1745
A sermon, preached before His Grace Charles Duke of Richmond, Lenox, and Aubigny,
president, 1748, 1751
Six sermons preached upon publick occasions, 1749
A catalogue of the libraries [...], 1753
A charge delivered to the clergy at the primary visitation of the diocese of Durham, 1751,
1786 - reprinted in Volume 2 of Gladstone's edition of Butler's works
See also[edit]
Saints portal
Altruism
Christian philosophy
Notes[edit]
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "Butler, Joseph". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University
Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4198. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Jump up^ 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jump up^ Ordination Record: Butler, Joseph in "CCEd, the Clergy of the Church of England database"
(Accessed online, 5 September 2014)
Jump up^ "Joseph Butler (1692—1752)".
Jump up^ White (2006), §8.
Jump up^ "Butler, Joseph." Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 ed.
Jump up^ John , The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature, London,
John and Paul Knapton, 1st Ed. 1736,3rd Ed. MDCCXL (1740)pp 65, 158, 424
8.
9.
Jump up^ "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed". Anglicanhistory.org. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
Jump up^ "Rosewell House". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Joseph Butler, see Joseph Butler (disambiguation).
The Rt Revd
Joseph Butler
Bishop of Durham
Engraving of Butler.
Diocese
Diocese of Durham
In office
October 1750 (confirmed)[1] – 1752 (death)
Predecessor
Edward Chandler
Successor
Richard Trevor
Other posts
Bishop of Bristol (19 October 1738 {nominated}–1750)
Dean of St Paul's (24 May 1740 {installed}–1750)[1]
Personal details
Born
18 May 1692
Wantage, Berkshire, England
Died
16 June 1752 (aged 60)
Bath, Somerset, Great Britain
Buried
20 June 1752,[1] Bristol Cathedral[2]
Nationality
English (later British)
Denomination
Anglican
Residence
Rosewell House, Kingsmead Square, Bath (at death)
Parents
Thomas Butler[1]
Spouse
unmarried
Profession
theologian, apologist,philosopher (see below)
Alma mater
Oriel College, Oxford
Sainthood
Feast day
16 June (commemoration)
Joseph Butler
Era
18th-century philosophy
Region
Western Philosophy
School
British Empiricism, Christian philosophy
Influences[show]
Influenced[show]
[show]Ordination history of Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 – 16 June 1752) was an English bishop, theologian, apologist,
and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county
ofBerkshire (now Oxfordshire). He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas
Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity. During his life and after his
death, Butler influenced many philosophers, including David Hume, Thomas Reid, and Adam
Smith.
[4]
[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Life
2 Works
o 2.1 Design argument
o 2.2 Criticism of Locke
3 Death and legacy
4 Publications
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References and further reading
8 External links
Life[edit]
The son of a Presbyterian linen-draper, he was destined for the ministry of that church,
and—along with future archbishop Thomas Secker—entered Samuel Jones's dissenting
academy at Gloucester (later Tewkesbury) for that purpose. Whilst there, he entered into a
secret correspondence with the conformist controversialist Samuel Clarke; his letters were
taken to Gloucester post office by Secker, who also collected Clarke's responses from there.
Clarke later published this correspondence. In 1714, decided to enter the Church of England,
and went to Oriel College, Oxford. After holding various other high positions, he
becamerector of the rich living of Stanhope, County Durham.
In 1736 he was made the head chaplain of King George II's wife Caroline, on the advice
of Lancelot Blackburne. In 1738 he was appointed bishop of Bristol. He is said (apocryphally)
to have declined an offer to become the archbishop of Canterbury in 1747. He was
enthroned as Bishop of Durham (by proxy) on 9 November 1750.
[1]
Works[edit]
He is most famous for his Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (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's apologetic concentrated
on "the general analogy between the principles of divine government, as set forth by the
biblical revelation, and those observable in the course of nature, [an analogy which] leads us
to the warrantable conclusion that there is one Author of both." Butler's arguments
combined a cumulative case for faith using probabilistic reasoning to persuade deists and
others to reconsider orthodox faith. Overall, his two books are remarkable and original
contributions to ethics and theology. They depend for their effect entirely upon the force of
their reasoning, for they have no graces of style.
[6]
The "Sermons on Human Nature" is commonly studied as an answer to Hobbes' philosophy
of psychological egoism. These two books are considered by his followers to be among the
most powerful and original contributions to ethics, apologetics and theology which have ever
been made.
Principia Ethica title page, with Butler's epigram
Today, he is commonly cited for the blunt epigram, "Every thing is what it is, and not another
thing."
Design argument[edit]
In 1736, he inferred a form of the argument for the evidence of design: As the manifold
Appearances of Design and of final Causes, in the Constitution of the World, prove it to be
the Work of an Mind . . . The appearances of design and of final causes in the constitution of
nature as really prove this acting agent to be an . . . ten thousand thousand Instances of
Design, cannot but prove a .. William Paley taught his works and built on his design
argument using the Watchmaker analogy.
[7]
Criticism of Locke[edit]
That Personality is not a permanent, but a transient thing: That it lives and dies, begins and
ends, continually: That no one can any more remain one and the same person two Moments
together, than two successive Moments can be one and the same Moment: that our
Substance is indeed continually changing; but whether this be so or not, is, it seems, nothing
to the purpose; since it is not Substance, but Consciousness alone, which constitutes
Personality; which Consciousness, being successive, cannot be the same in any two
Moments, nor consequently the personality constituted by it." And from hence it must follow,
that it is a Fallacy upon Ourselves, to charge our present Selves with any thing we did, or to
imagine our present Selves interested in any thing which befell us, yesterday, or that our
present Self will be interested in what will befall us to morrow; since our present Self is not, in
Reality, the same with the Self of Yesterday, but another like Self or Person coming in its
Room, and mistaken for it; to which another Self will succeed to morrow.
[8]
Death and legacy[edit]
Butler died in 1752 at Rosewell House, Kingsmead Square 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.
[9]
In the calendars of the Anglican communion his feast day is 16 June.
He has his own collection of manuscripts (e.g. Lectionary 189).
Publications[edit]
Several letters to the Reverend Dr. Clarke, 1716, 1719, 1725 - reprinted in Volume 1 of
Gladstone's edition of Butler's works
Fifteen sermons preached at the Rolls Chapel, 1726, 1729, 1736, 1749, 1759, 1765,
1769, 1774, 1792
The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of
Nature, 1736, 1740, 1750, 1754, 1764, 1765, 1771, 1775, 1785, 1788, 1791, 1793,
1796, 1798
A sermon preached before the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts, 1739
A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, 1740
A sermon preached before the House of Lords, 1741, 1747
A sermon preached in the parish-church of Christ-Church, London, 1745
A sermon, preached before His Grace Charles Duke of Richmond, Lenox, and Aubigny,
president, 1748, 1751
Six sermons preached upon publick occasions, 1749
A catalogue of the libraries [...], 1753
A charge delivered to the clergy at the primary visitation of the diocese of Durham, 1751,
1786 - reprinted in Volume 2 of Gladstone's edition of Butler's works
See also[edit]
Saints portal
Altruism
Christian philosophy
Notes[edit]
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "Butler, Joseph". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University
Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4198. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Jump up^ 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jump up^ Ordination Record: Butler, Joseph in "CCEd, the Clergy of the Church of England database"
(Accessed online, 5 September 2014)
Jump up^ "Joseph Butler (1692—1752)".
Jump up^ White (2006), §8.
Jump up^ "Butler, Joseph." Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 ed.
Jump up^ John , The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature, London,
John and Paul Knapton, 1st Ed. 1736,3rd Ed. MDCCXL (1740)pp 65, 158, 424
8.
9.
Jump up^ "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed". Anglicanhistory.org. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
Jump up^ "Rosewell House". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
