ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER. third Earl of Shaftesbury, philosopher and moralist,• grand son of the first Earl. was born in London, Febru ary 26, 1671. In 16S3 he was sent to Winchester School, and three years later he traveled in Ger many, France, and Italy. After an absence of three years lie returned to England and devoted himself to the study of philosophy. In 1711 he went to Naples on account of his health and died there February 15, 1713. His important writings were collected by himself and published under the title Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times (1711; enlarged ed. 1714). The en larged edition contains. among other things: A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm (1708) : Sensns Communis, an. Essay Concerning Wit and Hu mour (1709) ; The Moralists; a Philosophical Rhapsody (1709) ; and A Soliloquy (1710). Shaftesbury is one of the most important of English moralists. His significance lies in the
emphasis he placed on the social feelings and instincts. Against Hobbes he emphasizes the im portant part played by the 'natural affections' (= social and benevolent impulses) in securing happiness for the individual. Virtue consists in the harmony between the natural and the affections, while the unnatural affections tend to the good (= happiness) neither of the indi vidual nor of the race. Virtue is a matter of our own instincts: it is independent of religion. For his life and a popular sketch of his views, consult: Fowler, Shaftesbury and Hutcheson (London, 18S2) also Gizycki, Die Philosophic Shaftesburys (Leipzig, 1876) ; Martineau. Types of Ethical Theory (3d ed.. Oxford, 189S): Stephen, Essays on Freethinking and Plain Speaking (London, 1873).