Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s moral philosophy

Dissertation, Monash University (2013)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In this thesis, I defend Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s moral philosophy from the accusation that her simultaneous embrace of rationalism and empiricism commits her to certain logical inconsistencies. Those who accuse Cockburn of inconsistency have failed to identify the components of her theory that they find objectionable. The accusations are not completely unfounded because Cockburn does inherit certain ambiguities from John Locke. In order to repudiate the accusations, I identify tensions in Cockburn’s work that a critic might claim automatically commit her to certain logical inconsistencies. While some of the ambiguities remain unresolved, I show that Cockburn combines elements of rationalism and empiricism to form a coherent theory. She corrects elements of Locke that would otherwise be incompatible with her rationalism, meaning she is not a simple mouthpiece for his philosophy. The goal of this thesis is to lay to rest the unjustified accusations of inconsistency against Cockburn so that present-day readers can judge her work with fresh eyes.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 99,362

External links

  • This entry has no external links. Add one.
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s Democratization of Moral Virtue.Getty L. Lustila - 2020 - Canadian Journal of Philosophy 50 (1):83-97.
Cockburn, Catharine Trotter.Emilio Maria De Tommaso - 2018 - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Catharine Trotter Cockburn on Moral Knowledge.James O. Young - 2023 - Journal of the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists 2 (1–2):46–67.
Catharine Trotter Cockburn on the virtue of atheists.Jacqueline Broad - 2021 - Intellectual History Review 31 (1):111-128.
Catharine Trotter Cockburn.Ruth Boeker - 2023 - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Catharine Trotter Cockburn: Philosophical Writings.Patricia Sheridan (ed.) - 2006 - Peterborough, CA: Broadview Press.

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-09-22

Downloads
3 (#1,881,643)

6 months
3 (#1,441,862)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references