John Cottingham (born 1943) is an English philosopher. The focus of his research has been early-modern philosophy (especially
Descartes), the
philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning p ...
and
moral philosophy
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...
.
[Athanassoulis, Nafsika and Vice, Samantha eds. (2008) ''The Moral Life: Essays in Honour of John Cottingham'', Palgrave Macmillan] He is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
, Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and Honorary Fellow of
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...
. He is also a current Visiting Professor to the
Philosophy Department at
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...
.
Cottingham has served as editor of the journal
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...
, president of the
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London.
History
Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squa ...
, of the
British Society for the Philosophy of Religion, of the
Mind Association and as Chairman of the
British Society for the History of Philosophy. A Festschrift with responses by Cottingham, ''The Moral Life'', was published by Palgrave in 2008.
Cottingham was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School near
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...
.
Research
Descartes
Cottingham introduced
trialism
Trialism in philosophy was introduced by John Cottingham as an alternative interpretation of the mind–body dualism of Descartes. Trialism keeps the two substances of mind and body, but introduces a third substance, sensation, belonging to the ...
as an alternative interpretation of the
mind–body dualism of
Descartes. Although composed of two substances, mind and body, the human being possesses distinctive attributes in its own right (including sensations, passions, emotions), and these form a third category, that cannot be reduced to thought or extension. Cottingham has also argued that Descartes's view of animals as ‘machines’ does not have the reductionistic implications commonly supposed. Finally, Cottingham has explored the importance of Descartes as a moral philosopher, with a comprehensive picture of the good life that draws both on his scientific work (in physiology and psychology) and also on the theistic outlook that informs all his philosophy. Cottingham is co-editor and translator of the three-volume Cambridge edition of ''The Philosophical Writings of Descartes''.
Moral philosophy and philosophy of religion
Cottingham criticizes a putative psychological impoverishment of contemporary moral philosophy, and argues that any plausible theory of a good and integrated life for human beings needs to draw on the insights available from a broadly
psychoanalytic
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...
perspective. His work on partiality defends the importance of self-concern as a central ingredient in virtue. In ''On the Meaning of Life'', he addresses the relationship between moral, aesthetic and religious modes of awareness in constituting a meaningful life. Cottingham's more recent work in the philosophy of religion argues for the primacy of the moral and spiritual aspects of religious allegiance over theoretical and doctrinal components.
[''The Spiritual Dimension: Religion, Philosophy and Human Value'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)]
Selected works
* (2020) ''In Search of the Soul'', Princeton University Press.
* (2015) ''How to Believe'', Bloomsbury.
* (2009) ''Why Believe?'' Continuum
* (2008) ''
Cartesian Reflections'', Oxford University Press
* (2007) ''Western Philosophy'', Blackwell
* (2005) ''The Spiritual Dimension'', Cambridge University Press
* (2003) ''On the Meaning of Life'', Routledge
* (1998) ''Philosophy and the good life: reason and the passions in Greek, Cartesian and psychoanalytic ethics'', Cambridge University Press
* (1997) ''Descartes's Philosophy of Mind'', Orion
* (1988) ''
The Rationalists'', Oxford University Press
* (1986) ''Descartes'', Blackwell
References
External links
Personal webpageJohn Cottingham extended interview with transcripts for the 'Why Are We Here?' documentary series.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottingham, John
English philosophers
Catholic philosophers
People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Fellows of St John's College, Oxford
Descartes scholars
Living people
Presidents of the Aristotelian Society
1943 births
English male non-fiction writers