Wollaston's Early Critics

British Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (6):1097-1116 (2012)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Some of the most forceful objections to William Wollaston's moral theory come from his early critics, namely, Thomas Bott (1688-1754), Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), and John Clarke of Hull (1687-1734). These objections are little known, while the inferior objections of Hume, Bentham, and later prominent critics are familiar. This fact is regrettable. For instance, it impedes a robust understanding of eighteenth-century British ethics; also, it fosters a questionable view as to why Wollaston's theory, although at first well received, soon faded in esteem among philosophers. This paper gives Wollaston's early critics some of the attention they deserve. It reconstructs some of their objections to Wollaston's philosophy, addresses replies to those objections, and shows that despite some minor flaws, the objections succeed. A fact that becomes clear is that Wollaston's philosophy had suffered devastating criticism years before Hume wrote anything against it.

Other Versions

No versions found

Analytics

Added to PP
2012-10-31

Downloads
879 (#23,513)

6 months
105 (#54,238)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

John J. Tilley
Indiana University Indianapolis

References found in this work

The Theory of Moral Sentiments.Adam Smith - 1759 - Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. Edited by Elizabeth Schmidt Radcliffe, Richard McCarty, Fritz Allhoff & Anand Vaidya.
The methods of ethics.Henry Sidgwick - 1884 - Bristol, U.K.: Thoemmes Press. Edited by Emily Elizabeth Constance Jones.
Logic and Conversation.H. Paul Grice - 1975 - In Donald Davidson (ed.), The logic of grammar. Encino, Calif.: Dickenson Pub. Co.. pp. 64-75.
A treatise of human nature: a critical edition.David Hume - 2007 - New York: Oxford University Press. Edited by David Fate Norton & Mary J. Norton.

View all 38 references / Add more references