Catharine Trotter Cockburn on Self-Interest, Self-Love, and Benevolence
Ruth Boeker is Assistant Professor in Philosophy at University College Dublin.
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My paper examines Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s contribution to debates in British moral philosophy. My goal is not only to analyse Cockburn’s views concerning self-interest, self-love, and benevolence, but also to rethink what role women philosophers like Cockburn play within histories of British moral philosophy. Cockburn distinguishes self-love from selfishness and believes that self-love and benevolence do not exclude each other. I propose that she understands self-love as a concern or care for oneself and I show how her understanding of self-love differs from other eighteenth-century conceptions of self-love. Furthermore, I examine how Cockburn distances her own views from the moral views of her contemporaries.
Coffee, refreshments, and snacks will be served.
Everyone interested is heartily welcome to attend!
