Papers by Colin Heydt
Here are the contents and introduction to my forthcoming book.
A number of recent interpretations defend the description of Adam Smith as “a strong supporter of... more A number of recent interpretations defend the description of Adam Smith as “a strong supporter of natural theology.” This paper argues against that claim using both novel evidence and familiar evidence applied in novel ways. What I demonstrate here is that Smith took positions at odds with a commitment to natural religion’s importance for morality. In particular, I show that it is hard to square Smith’s alleged support of natural religion with his account of conscience, his natural rights theory, and his omission of piety from his catalogue of virtues. To put the argument form most simply: If natural religion, then (typically) x; not x; therefore, not natural religion.
This paper scrutinises early modern thinking about our moral relations to ourselves. It begins by... more This paper scrutinises early modern thinking about our moral relations to ourselves. It begins by reiterating the too-often-ignored point that full self-ownership was not a position defended in Britain-by Locke or anyone else. In fact, the actual early modern positions about the moral relations we have to ourselves have been obscured by our present-day interest in self-ownership. The paper goes on to organise the moral history of the self by examining the reasons available for prohibiting self-harm. Those reasons typically had their source in God, self, and others. Major divisions in the period arose over which kinds of reasons could be invoked and why. The defining feature of this intellectual landscape was the debate between 'other-regarding' and 'dignity' theorists, who differed over the moral status of the self and over its importance as a source of moral reasons. More dramatically and controversially, various freethinkers and sceptics questioned the importance of God as a source of prohibitions for self-harm. After offering an interpretation of this history, the paper concludes by noting some connections and contrasts between early modern and present-day moral and political philosophy on the moral status of the self.
This paper examines Hume's four essays on happiness: the "Epicurean," the "Stoic," the "Platonist... more This paper examines Hume's four essays on happiness: the "Epicurean," the "Stoic," the "Platonist," and the "Sceptic." I argue, first, that careful attention to how these essays are written shows that they do not simply argue for one position over others. They also elicit affective and imaginative responses in order to modify the reader's outlook and to improve the reader's understanding in service to moral ends. The analysis offers an improved reading of the essays and highlights the intimate connections between the purposes of philosophical writing and its manner of presentation. Secondly, I contend that appreciating how Hume's essays on happiness work on the reader demonstrates the insufficiency of Hume's categories of "anatomist" and "painter."
British Journal for The History of Philosophy, 2006
In well-known lines from his Autobiography, Mill identifies two 'very marked effects' on his 'opi... more In well-known lines from his Autobiography, Mill identifies two 'very marked effects' on his 'opinions and character' brought about by the period of his mental crisis. 1 The first involved no longer making happiness 'the direct end' of conduct and life. The second effect, which will consume our attention here, was that Mill 'gave its proper place, among the prime necessities of human well-being, to the internal culture of the individual', i.e. the cultivation of the feelings. 2 He had, he says, ceased to attach 'almost exclusive importance to the ordering of outward circumstances, and the training of the human being for speculation and for action'. 3 The contrast of internal culture with speculation, action, and 'the ordering of outward circumstances', draws on a vigorous literature of protest against the tenets of utilitarianism and political economy. Again and again in critics of utilitarianism such as Carlyle, Coleridge, Dickens and Mackintosh, one finds defences of the 'inner', 'internal', 'interior', 'inward' and 'inmost' against the 'external', 'outward', 'outer' and the closely related 'mechanical'. We can see a formidable example of this genre in Carlyle's Signs of the Times, in which he identifies his era as a 'mechanical' one and makes the following lament:
Journal of The History of Philosophy, 2006
Journal of The History of Philosophy, 2010
Drafts by Colin Heydt
This is a draft chapter in my book on eighteenth century practical ethics.
Teaching Documents by Colin Heydt
In USF's philosophy department, we're instituting a teacher-training seminar for our graduate stu... more In USF's philosophy department, we're instituting a teacher-training seminar for our graduate students. This is the first iteration of the course. Feedback is welcome!
Uploads
Papers by Colin Heydt
Drafts by Colin Heydt
Teaching Documents by Colin Heydt