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Self-love in Butler and Rousseau

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Joseph Butler

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Abstract

This chapter compares Butler and Rousseau’s arguments on self-love, against psychological egoism, and on self-love and human nature in society. We refer to the Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel and Preface to the 1729 edition of Fifteen Sermons for Butler (especially the first three Sermons) and the Discours sur l ‘inégalité and Emile for Rousseau. Through a comparison of their arguments on self-love, we clarify some of the characteristics of their ethical thought and examine the background for their contrasting evaluations of commercial society.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy of French Enlightenment, Institute of Bioethics, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

    Shuma Yoshida

Authors
  1. Shuma Yoshida
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Correspondence to Shuma Yoshida .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Daisuke Arie

  2. Toshima, Tokyo, Japan

    Masatake Okubo

  3. Department of Humanities, International Christian University, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoki Yajima

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Yoshida, S. (2024). Self-love in Butler and Rousseau. In: Arie, D., Okubo, M., Yajima, N. (eds) Joseph Butler. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9903-3_9

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