A drudge's bargain
Thomas Carlyle on Christian Epicureanism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4783953 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amity Jordan (0009-0008-4837-1843, Centre Max Weber, corresponding author), Alexander Hugh Jordan (The Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue | 256 |
| Pages | 362-385 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Historical Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-3471 • E-ISSN: 1468-2281 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1468-2281.12265 |
| OpenAlex | W2924890227 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
This article analyses Carlyle's polemic against Christian Epicureanism, particularly as expressed by William Paley. This consisted of first a utilitarian morality, second an emphasis on the pleasures of heaven and the pains of hell, and finally a commercial theodicy of self-love, whereby God was held to work through market competition. In opposition, Carlyle advocated a disinterested virtue reminiscent of Stoicism, rejecting any system of divine rewards and punishments, and arguing that economic life ought to be regulated by the State. Although contemporaries objected to Carlyle's ‘Stoicism’ and ‘Pantheism’, they acknowledged the need to purge Christian theology of its Epicurean admixtures
Damnation · Epicureanism · Heaven · Stoicism · Theodicy · Theology · Virtue · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Literary Studies · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |