Butler and the nature of self-interest
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 60 (2):421-438 (2000)
Abstract
Butler’s famous arguments in Sermon XI, designed to refute psychological egoism and to mitigate conflict between self-interest and benevolence, turn out to depend crucially on his own distinctive conception of self-interest. Butler does not notice the availability of several alternative conceptions of self-interest. Some such alternatives are available within the framework of Butler’s moral psychology; others can be developed outside that framework. There are a number of interesting reasons to prefer one or other such account of the ordinary concept of self-interest; but, ultimately, no such reasons prove decisive, and we should reject the idea that there is a uniquely correct account of self-interest. Since Butler’s arguments require the unique adequacy of his own distinctive conception of self-interest, they must be rejectedAuthor's Profile
ISBN(s)
0031-8205
DOI
10.2307/2653493
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Similar books and articles
Joseph Butler's Case for Virtue: Conscience as a Power of Sight in a Darkened World.J. F. Worthen - 1995 - Journal of Religious Ethics 23 (2):239-261.
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Citations of this work
Explaining the Paradox of Hedonism.Alexander Dietz - 2019 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 97 (3):497-510.
Butler’s Stone and Ultimate Psychological Hedonism.Peter Nilsson - 2013 - Philosophia 41 (2):545-553.