Joseph Butler
Sign in to saveAlso known as A Gentleman in Gloucestershire
English bishop and philosopher (1692–1752)
Key facts
- Diocese
- Durham
- In office
- 1750–1752
- Predecessor
- Edward Chandler
- Successor
- Richard Trevor
- Other posts
- Bishop of Bristol (1738–1750), Dean of St Paul's (1740–1750)
- Ordination
- 26 October 1718 (deacon) , 21 December 1718 (priest), by William Talbot
- Consecration
- 3 December 1738
- Born
- ( 1692-05-18 ) 18 May 1692, Wantage , Berkshire , England
- Died
- 16 June 1752 (1752-06-16) (aged 60), Bath , Somerset , Great Britain
- Buried
- 20 June 1752 (O.S.) Bristol Cathedral .
- Denomination
- Presbyterian , Anglican (after 1714)
- Residence
- Rosewell House , Kingsmead Square, Bath (at death)
- Parents
- Thomas Butler
- Profession
- Theologian , apologist , philosopher
- Feast day
- 16 June (commemoration)
- Education
- Tewkesbury Academy , Oriel College, Oxford
- Era
- 18th-century philosophy
- Region
- Western philosophy
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Joseph
- Family name
- Butler
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Place of birth
- Wantage
- Place of death
- Bath
- Occupation
- Anglican priest
- Educated at
- Oriel College
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Anglicanism
- Image
- Joseph Butler.png
Show 9 more facts
- described by source
- Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia
- Commons category
- Joseph Butler
- date of birth
- 1692-01-01
- date of death
- 1752-01-01
- writing language
- English language
- diocese
- Diocese of Durham
- ethnic group
- English people
- P12749
- Hashim Thaçi
- place of burial
- Bristol Cathedral
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 O.S. – 16 June 1752 O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire). His principal works are the Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel (1726) and The Analogy of Religion (1736).
He is known for critiques of deism, Thomas Hobbes's egoism, and John Locke's theory of personal identity. The many philosophers and religious thinkers Butler influenced included David Hume, Thomas Reid, Adam Smith, Henry Sidgwick, John Henry Newman, and C. D. Broad, and is widely seen as "one of the pre-eminent English moralists." He played a major, if underestimated role in developing 18th-century economic discourse, influencing political economist Josiah Tucker.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joseph Butler” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.