Self-love and Moral Motivation in the Works of Joseph Butler

Judy Chambers

This paper claims that Butler distinguishes the issue “Why be moral?” from the issue of sceptical doubt about the possibility of psychological altruism. It proposes that Butler’s defence of psychological altruism rests on his unique conception of self-love. It argues that Butler uses three different types of self-love throughout his works; one as a rational principle, another as a selfish drive, and a third as an affection or moral emotion. It proposes that moral self-love, which is experienced as an unintended by-product of reflecting on virtuous motivation and action, promotes psychological altruism in moral agents. Thus, revisiting Butler's works allows us to contribute to the contemporary, empirically-informed philosophical debate on altruism.

MA completion talk.