"Self-love then does not constitute THIS or THAT to be our interest or good; but, our interest or good being constituted by nature and supposed, self-love only puts us upon obtaining and securing it"
About this Quote
Joseph Butler draws a sharp line between what is good for us and the desire to get it. Our genuine interest, he says, is fixed by the way human nature is constituted. Self-love does not manufacture value or redefine the good; it is the motive power that seeks to possess and protect what is already good by nature. That view rescues self-love from the suspicion that it is merely a mask for whim or appetite. Butler distinguishes reflective self-love from particular passions: hunger, lust, ambition, or resentment can pull us toward immediate gratification, but self-love, properly understood, surveys the whole of life and aims at our long-term welfare. Health, virtue, friendship, peace of mind are good not because we happen to want them at a moment, but because they answer to the structure of our nature; self-love urges us to secure them.
The context is Butler’s 18th-century effort to counter Hobbesian egoism and Mandeville’s claim that private vices yield public benefits. In the Rolls Chapel sermons, he argues that human nature includes conscience as a governing faculty, alongside affections for both self and others. Because nature, under divine providence, sets the terms of human flourishing, self-love and benevolence are not enemies. A sound concern for oneself will frequently align with concern for others, since social affections, integrity, and justice are themselves constituents of our good. This also explains why vice often undermines the agent: short-sighted indulgence may gratify a passion, but it conflicts with the broader aim of happiness, which requires order, character, and regard for others. Butler’s claim reframes moral agency: reason and conscience identify what truly benefits us; self-love then organizes our choices to attain it. The insight remains contemporary. If the good is objective and woven into human capacities, then the ethical life is less about inventing values and more about faithfully pursuing what fulfills our nature, with self-love serving as a steady, rational ally rather than a rival to virtue.
The context is Butler’s 18th-century effort to counter Hobbesian egoism and Mandeville’s claim that private vices yield public benefits. In the Rolls Chapel sermons, he argues that human nature includes conscience as a governing faculty, alongside affections for both self and others. Because nature, under divine providence, sets the terms of human flourishing, self-love and benevolence are not enemies. A sound concern for oneself will frequently align with concern for others, since social affections, integrity, and justice are themselves constituents of our good. This also explains why vice often undermines the agent: short-sighted indulgence may gratify a passion, but it conflicts with the broader aim of happiness, which requires order, character, and regard for others. Butler’s claim reframes moral agency: reason and conscience identify what truly benefits us; self-love then organizes our choices to attain it. The insight remains contemporary. If the good is objective and woven into human capacities, then the ethical life is less about inventing values and more about faithfully pursuing what fulfills our nature, with self-love serving as a steady, rational ally rather than a rival to virtue.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Love |
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