Elizabeth Hamilton's Memoirs of Modern Philosophers as a philosophical text.

Elizabeth Hamilton (1758–1816) has not so far been considered a philosopher, probably because she wrote novels and tracts on education rather than philosophical treatises. This paper argues that Hamilton's novel Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (1800) should be read as a philosophical text, both for i...

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Publicado en:British Journal for the History of Philosophy Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 1072 - 1099
Autor principal: Boyle, Deborah
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Dec2021
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        10.1080/09608788.2021.1917337
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        atl: Elizabeth Hamilton's Memoirs of Modern Philosophers as a philosophical text.
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        au: Boyle, Deborah
        affil: Department of Philosophy, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA
      su:
        Hamilton, Elizabeth, 1758-1816
        Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (Book)
        Godwin, William, 1756-1836
        Memoirs
        French Revolution, 1789-1799
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        subj:
          Hamilton, Elizabeth, 1758-1816
          Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (Book)
          Godwin, William, 1756-1836
          Memoirs
          French Revolution, 1789-1799
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        genre
        Godwin
        Hamilton
        moral theory
        utilitarianism
      ab: Elizabeth Hamilton (1758–1816) has not so far been considered a philosopher, probably because she wrote novels and tracts on education rather than philosophical treatises. This paper argues that Hamilton's novel Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (1800) should be read as a philosophical text, both for its close engagement with William Godwin's moral theory and for what it suggests about Hamilton's own moral theory and moral psychology. Studies of Memoirs have so far either characterized it as merely satire of Godwin, or, if they have read it as containing arguments against Godwin's views, have described those arguments in very broad strokes, without looking closely at the text to see if the descriptions are warranted. A careful examination of Memoirs shows that Hamilton objected primarily to one key aspect of Godwin's moral theory, namely, his insistence that actions affecting others must be based on an impartial, disinterested assessment of a person's contribution to general utility rather than on their particular relationship to the agent. Memoirs also points towards Hamilton's own moral theory, as exemplified in her Series of Popular Essays (1813), with its emphasis on 'benevolent affections' that are directed towards family members and people in the agent's social circle.
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    language: English
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