Self-love in Butler and Rousseau

This chapter compares Butler and Rousseau’s[aut]Rousseau, Jean-Jacques arguments on self-loveSelf-love, against psychological egoismEgoismpsychological egoism, and on self-loveSelf-love and human natureHuman nature in society. We refer to the Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel and Preface to the 1729 edition of Fifteen Sermons for Butler (especially the first three Sermons) and the Discours sur l ‘inégalité and Emile for Rousseau[aut]Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Through a comparison of their arguments on self-loveSelf-love, we clarify some of the characteristics of their ethical thought and examine the background for their contrasting evaluations of commercial societyCommercial society.