Moral philosopher and theologian, born in Wantage, Oxfordshire, SC England, UK. He studied at Oxford, took orders, and was appointed preacher at the Rolls Chapel, London (1718). While holding various church appointments, he wrote his major work, The Analogy of Religion (1736), in which he argued that objections against revealed religion may also be levelled against the whole constitution of nature. He was made Bishop of Bristol (1738), Dean of St Paul's (1740), and Bishop of Durham (1750).
Joseph Butler (May 18, 1692–June 16, 1752) was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher.
The son of a Presbyterian linen-draper, he was destined for the ministry of that Church, but in 1714 he decided to enter the Church of England, and went to Oxford.
In 1736 he was made the head chaplain of King George II's wife Caroline, on the advice of Lancelot Blackburne.
He is most famous for his "Fifteen Sermons on Human Nature" (1726) and "Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed" (1736). Butler's apologetic concentrated on discerning analogies to the death and resurrection of Christ in the natural world (such as the caterpillar turning into a butterfly). Butler's arguments combined a cumulative case for faith using probabilistic reasoning to persuade Deists and others to reconsider orthodox faith. Aspects of his apologetic reasoning are reflected in the writings of twentieth century Christian apologists such as C.
The "Sermons on Human Nature" is commonly studied as an answer to Hobbes' philosophy of ethical egoism.
Butler died in 1752 in Bath, Somerset.
In the calendars of the Anglican communion his feast day is June 16.
User Comments Add a comment…