Shaftesbury
People have a natural moral sense that responds to goodness as the eye responds to beauty – virtue and beauty are close relatives.
Placement
The third Earl of Shaftesbury, pupil of Locke: humans have a natural “moral sense” and a feeling for harmony – virtue and beauty are akin.
Key ideas
- Moral sense
- Kinship of the good and the beautiful
- Ridicule as a test of truth
Teachers: John Locke
Influence
Influenced by 3
Plato
influenced by
Shaftesbury’s The Moralists (1709), a philosophical rhapsody in dialogue form, renewed Plato’s identification of beauty and goodness and the ascent from beautiful forms to their source. Shaftesbury, The Moralists, a Philosophical Rhapsody (1709), in Characteristicks (1711); SEP “Lord Shaftesbury”
Evidence: AI draft
Plato › 428–348 BCE
Epictetus
influenced by
In his private notebooks, the Askêmata (1698–1704), Shaftesbury trained himself by the Stoic exercises Epictetus describes, citing him constantly. Shaftesbury, Askêmata, ed. B. Rand as Philosophical Regimen (1900); Standard Edition II.6, ed. W. Benda et al. (2011); SEP “Lord Shaftesbury”
Evidence: AI draft
Epictetus › c. 50–135
Marcus Aurelius
influenced by
Shaftesbury’s private notebooks, the Askêmata (1698–1704), are, like Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, reminders of principles and exhortations to live by them, full of quotations from Marcus. Shaftesbury, Askêmata, ed. B. Rand as Philosophical Regimen (1900); Standard Edition II.6, ed. W. Benda et al. (2011); SEP “Lord Shaftesbury”
Evidence: AI draft
Marcus Aurelius › 121–180
Influenced 2
Francis Hutcheson
influenced
The title page of Hutcheson’s Inquiry (1725) states that in it ‘the principles of the late Earl of Shaftesbury are explain’d and defended’ against Mandeville. F. Hutcheson, An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725), title page; SEP “Francis Hutcheson”
Evidence: also in InPhO · InPhO
Francis Hutcheson › 1694–1746
Denis Diderot
influenced
Diderot’s first philosophical publication was a free translation of Shaftesbury’s Inquiry concerning Virtue or Merit, with his own notes (Essai sur le mérite et la vertu, 1745). D. Diderot, Principes de la philosophie morale, ou Essai de M. S*** sur le mérite et la vertu (1745); SEP “Denis Diderot”
Evidence: AI draft
Denis Diderot › 1713–1784
Criticism
Criticizes 2
Thomas Hobbes
criticised
Shaftesbury rejected Hobbes’s picture of humans as solely self-interested, holding that natural affection for others and for the common good belongs to human nature (Sensus Communis, 1709). Shaftesbury, Sensus Communis (1709), II.1, III.1; An Inquiry concerning Virtue or Merit (1699/1711); SEP “Lord Shaftesbury”
Evidence: AI draft
Thomas Hobbes › 1588–1679
John Locke studied with
studied with ✓
The first Earl of Shaftesbury put Locke, his physician and adviser, in charge of the education of his grandson, the later third Earl; the two remained friends until Locke’s death, although the pupil came to reject much of Locke’s philosophy. SEP “Lord Shaftesbury [Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury]”
Evidence: AI draft
criticised
Shaftesbury wrote that Locke struck ‘the home blow’ by denying innate moral ideas and making virtue depend on fashion and custom (letter to Michael Ainsworth, 1709). Shaftesbury to M. Ainsworth, 3 June 1709, in Several Letters Written by a Noble Lord to a Young Man at the University (1716); SEP “Lord Shaftesbury”
Evidence: AI draft
John Locke › 1632–1704
Works
Essays on the moral sense, enthusiasm and good humor as a test of truth.
Position
Shaftesbury broke both with Hobbes’s picture of humans as selfish and with his teacher Locke’s view that morality rests on command and reward. Humans, he argued, have natural social affections and an inner “moral sense” that approves of a balanced, benevolent character, much as the eye delights in proportion: the good and the beautiful are akin. Virtue lies in the harmony of the affections and does not depend on fear of punishment. Against fanaticism he recommended good humor and ridicule as tests of truth. His essays, collected in the Characteristicks, influenced Hutcheson and Hume and were eagerly read in Germany by Lessing, Herder and Schiller.
Life & context
Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury, was born in London in 1671, the grandson of the Whig statesman whose physician and adviser John Locke oversaw his education. After a tour of the Continent he sat in the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords. Weakened by asthma, he moved to Naples for its climate in 1711 and died there in 1713.
Further main works
- An Inquiry Concerning Virtue, or Merit (1699)
- A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm (1708)
- Sensus Communis (1709)
- The Moralists (1709)
As of November 2026 · Sources · Improve this page · How Agora is made