Cooper, Anthony Ashley, third earl of Shaftesbury

Daniel Floyd (University of Aberdeen)

Ed. by Janet Todd, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 26 Feb 1671
Died 15 Feb 1713
Activity 1695-1713

Places

Born in England
Active in England; Italy

Activities

Primary

Essayist
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Literary Critic/ Historian
Man/ Woman of Letters
Moralist
Philosopher

Other

Literary Critic/ Historian
Member of Parliament

Resources

Cooper's Works

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Anthony Ashley Cooper, the Third Earl of Shaftesbury from 1699, was famous in his own time for attacking religious enthusiasm and questioning moral theories that attributed all human actions to pure self-interest, but he is better known today as an innovator in aesthetics who linked beauty with moral virtue. A collection of essays,

Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times

(1711), began to have a significant influence on moral philosophy and aesthetics in Britain and on the continent shortly after his death. While he was alive, his treatises elicited fewer critical responses than he had hoped and he feared his ideas – especially his firm belief in natural benevolence and virtue as the original state of humanity – would languish in obscurity, while prevalent beliefs in the…

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2275 words

Citation: Floyd, Daniel. "Cooper, Anthony Ashley, third earl of Shaftesbury". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1008, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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