Joseph Butler: Fifteen Sermons and other writings on ethics (British Moral Philosophers) PDF
Preview Joseph Butler: Fifteen Sermons and other writings on ethics (British Moral Philosophers)
Joseph Butler BRITISH MORAL PHILOSOPHERS EssaysonEthicsandMethod HenrySidgwick EditedbyMarcusG.Singer MoralWritings H.A.Prichard EditedbyJimMcAdam TheRightandtheGood DavidRoss EditedbyPhilipStratton-Lake ProlegomenatoEthics T.H.Green EditedbyDavidO.Brink Ethicsand‘TheNatureof MoralPhilosophy’ G.E.Moore EditedbyWilliamH.Shaw FifteenSermonsPreachedattheRollsChapel andotherwritingsonethics JosephButler EditedbyDavidMcNaughton Joseph Butler Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel and other writings on ethics EDITED BY David McNaughton 1 OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,19/12/2016,SPi 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©thisedition©OxfordUniversityPress2017; editorialmaterial©DavidMcNaughton2017 Themoralrightsoftheauthorshavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2017 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016946924 ISBN 978–0–19–965755–1(hbk.) 978–0–19–965756–8(pbk.) PrintedinGreatBritainby ClaysLtd,StIvesplc LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JOSEPH BUTLER BISHOP OF DURHAM BORN A.D. 1692 DIED A.D. 1752 SURPASSED BY NONE WHETHER ON THE LONG LINE OF BISHOPS OF THE SEE OR AMONG THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHERS OF ENGLAND ADAPTING THE TONE OF HIS LANGUAGE TO THE EXIGENCIES OF HIS HOLY CAUSE HE COULD USE A SEVERE SELF-RESTRAINT BUT COULD ALSO RISE TO THE HEIGHTS OF A FERVID DEVOTION HIS CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH LAY IN A HABIT PROFOUNDLY MEDITATIVE IN THE PROPORTION AND MEASURE OF HIS THOUGHT IN SEARCHING MENTAL VISION IN THE CONSECRATION OF A LIFE AND IN HUMBLE UNSWERVING LOYALTY TO TRUTH THUS HIS WORKS BECAME A FOUNTAIN OF PERPETUAL INSTRUCTION ON THE HIGHEST DUTIES AND INTERESTS OF MAN Inscription from the memorial tablet to Butler in the Choir of Durham Cathedral. OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,19/12/2016,SPi Contents Preface ix Introduction xi NotesontheText xxxvii FifteenSermonsPreachedattheRollsChapel 1 ThePreface 3 Sermon1 UponHumanNature 17 Sermon2 UponHumanNature 26 Sermon3 UponHumanNature 33 Sermon4 UpontheGovernmentoftheTongue 38 Sermon5 UponCompassion 46 Sermon6 UponCompassion 54 Sermon7 UpontheCharacterofBalaam 60 Sermon8 UponResentment 68 Sermon9 UponForgivenessofInjuries 75 Sermon10 UponSelf-Deceit 84 Sermon11 UpontheLoveofOurNeighbour 93 Sermon12 UpontheLoveofOurNeighbour 103 Sermon13 UpontheLoveofGod 113 Sermon14 UpontheLoveofGod 120 Sermon15 UpontheIgnoranceofMan 127 ADissertationoftheNatureofVirtue 135 ASermonPreachedBeforetheHouseofLords 142 ASelectionfromtheCorrespondencebetweenJosephButlerand SamuelClarke 153 Editor’sNotes 159 Butler’sPredecessors 187 Bibliography 197 Index 203 Preface IwasextremelyfortunateinmyundergraduatePhilosophyDepartmentinavariety ofways.OnewasthatthecurriculumatNewcastle-upon-Tynewasfairlytraditional. Butler’s moral philosophy was part of the main ethics course, along with Aristotle, Hume,Kant,andMill.Thisledtoalife-longinterestinButler,whoseinsightsstrike measmoreprofoundeachtimeIreadhim.Whilethereisasteadytrickleofpapers about Butler’s moral philosophy, the works themselves seem to have more or less dropped out of the mainstream curriculum. And when they are included, it is only thefamousfiveofhisfifteensermonsthataretaught.Itis,indeed,asadreflectionon thecomparativeneglectofhisworkthattherearenofullyannotatedandreferenced editions of his Fifteen Sermons, nor indeed of his Analogy of Religion, currently in print.1 I am therefore especially pleased to have been given the opportunity to remedy this defect. (An edition of the Analogy is in preparation as a companion volumetothisone.) This is a reader’s edition of the final version of Butler’s Fifteen Sermons with relevant related ethical writings. The Sermons were first published in 1726. Three years later Butler revised them and added a lengthy preface. It is the text of that second edition that is given here. As this is a reader’s edition, I have avoided an apparatus oftextualvariants thattends todistract thereader.Changes between the first and second edition that struck me as especially important are given in the Editor’sNotes.IhaveaddedtotheSermonsthreepiecesthatthrowlightonButler’s ethical views. The first is the Dissertation of the Nature of Virtue, which forms AppendixIIoftheAnalogy,andwhichhasbeenstandardlyreprintedinallcomplete editions of the Sermons. The others are less well known. The first is one of the SixSermonsPreachedonPublicOccasions,whichwereincludedinthefourthedition oftheSermons,publishedin1749.Thissermon,preachedbeforetheHouseofLords ontheanniversaryoftheexecutionofCharlesI,greatlyenlargeswhatButlerhasto sayabouttherelationbetweenself-deceptionandhypocrisy.Thesecondisthatpart ofthecorrespondencebetweenButlerandSamuelClarke(writtenwhenButlerwas fairly young) that deals with ethical issues. The matter they discuss is freedom and accountabilityforouractions,andthequestionsandobjectionsthatButlerposesto ClarkeareonestowhichhereturnsintheSermons. IhaveincludedanEditor’sIntroduction,inwhichIgiveanoutlineofButler’schief views,anddiscusshistreatmentofvariousissuesraisedinthelesswellknownofthe sermons. The Editor’s Notes are designed to (1) aid comprehension, (2) draw attentiontocorrespondingpassagesinotherpartsofhisworkwhereButlerdiscusses relatedthemes,(3)directthereadertotheworkofearlierphilosopherswhomButler isdiscussing,orwhomayhaveinfluencedhisthinking.AfterthoseNotesthereare
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