John Cottingham

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Professor of Public Engagement with History
- John Cottingham is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford.
Areas of interest
- Professor Cottingham's chief research interests are in the philosophy of religion and moral philosophy, and in early-modern philosophy (especially Descartes).
Background
- Prof. Cottingham has published thirty books — thirteen as sole author, a further nine editions and translations, plus (either as single or join editor) eight edited collections — together with over 115 articles or chapters in journals or books. His books include Descartes, The Rationalists, Philosophy and the Good Life, On the Meaning of Life, The Spiritual Dimension (Cambridge, 2005), Cartesian Reflections (Oxford, 2008), Why Believe? (Continuum 2009) and Philosophy of Religion: Towards a More Humane Approach (Cambridge, 2014).
- He is co-editor and translator of the three-volume standard Cambridge edition of The Philosophical Writings of Descartes.
- From 1993-2012 he was editor of Ratio, the international journal of analytic philosophy. The Moral Life, a Festschrift honouring his work on moral psychology, ethics and religion, was published in 2008.
Websites/blogs
See John Cottingham's personal pagePublications
- Cottingham, J. (2023) The immaterial soul and the embodied human being: Descartes on mind and body. Think , 22 (63). pp. 7-13. ISSN: 1755-1196 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1477175622000276
- Cottingham, J. (2023) Spiritual experience: its scope, its phenomenology, and its source. New Blackfriars , 104 (112). pp. 414-427. ISSN: 0028-4289 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12822
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Cottingham, J.
ORCID: 0000-0001-5205-0323 (2022) Which naturalism?. New Blackfriars , 103 (107). pp. 581-596. ISSN: 0028-4289 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12765
- Feltham, B. and Cottingham, J. , eds. (2010) Partiality and impartiality: morality, special relationships, and the wider world. Oxford University Press , Oxford. pp 272. ISBN: 9780199579952
- Cottingham, J. (2007) Review: Tad Schmaltz, (ed.), Receptions of Descartes: Cartesianism and anti-Cartesianism in early modern Europe. Routledge, 2005. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews ISSN: 1538-1617
- Cottingham, J. (2007) Beyond the mystery of existence: Faith within reason, Herbert McCabe. . The Tablet ISSN: 0039-8837
- Cottingham, J. (2007) Review: C Insole, The realist hope: a critique of anti-realist approaches in contemporary philosophical theology. Ashgate Press, 2006 . Times Literary Supplement (22).
- Cottingham, J. (2007) Review: David E Cooper, A philosophy of gardens. Clarendon Press, 2006. Philosophy , 82 (1). pp. 187-189. ISSN: 1469-817X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0031819107319116
- Cottingham, J. (2007) A triangle of hostility? Psychoanalysis, philosophy and religion. In: Braddock, L. and Lacewing, M. , (eds.) The academic face of psychoanalysis. Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) , London. pp. 92-110. ISBN: 9780415392549
- Cottingham, J. (2007) The role of God in Descartes' philosophy. In: Broughton, J. and Carriero, J. , (eds.) A companion to Descartes. Wiley-Blackwell , Oxford. pp. 287-301. ISBN: 9781405121545
- Cottingham, J. (2007) Plato's sun and Descartes's stove: contemplation and control in Cartesian philosophy. In: Ayers, M. , (eds.) Rationalism, Platonism and God: a symposium on early modern philosophy . Proceedings of the British Academy , 149. Oxford University Press , Oxford. pp. 15-44. ISBN: 9780197264201
- Cottingham, J. , eds. (2007) The meaning of theism. Wiley-Blackwell , Oxford. pp 144. ISBN: 9781405159609
- Cottingham, J. , eds. (2007) Western philosophy: an anthology. 2nd edition. Wiley-Blackwell , Oxford. pp 888. ISBN: 9781405124775
- Cottingham, J. (2006) Review: A Kenny, What I believe. Times Literary Supplement pp. 27.
- Cottingham, J. (2006) Review: Thomas Pink and M W F Stone, The will and human action from antiquity to the present day. Routledge, 2004. Mind , 115 (459). pp. 793-796. ISSN: 1460-2113 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzl793
- Cottingham, J. (2006) What difference does it make? The nature and significance of theistic belief. Ratio , 19 (4). pp. 401-420. ISSN: 0034-0006 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9329.2006.00337.x
- Cottingham, J. (2006) Descartes as sage: spiritual askesis in Cartesian philosophy. In: Hunter, I. , Condren, C. , Gaukroger, S. , (eds.) The philosopher in early modern Europe. Ideas in Context Cambridge University Press (77). , Cambridge. pp. 182-201. ISBN: 9780521866460 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2277/0521866464
- Cottingham, J. (2006) The mind-body relation: matter and morality in the sixth meditation. In: Gaukroger, S. , (eds.) The Blackwell Guide to Descartes' Meditations. Blackwell Publishing , Malden. pp. 179-192. ISBN: 9781405118750
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Review: Terry Eagleton, Holy terror. Oxford University Press USA, 2005. The Tablet pp. 23. ISSN: 0039-8837
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Review: C Wilson, Moral animals. Times Literary Supplement , 19 pp. 37.
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Review: Erik J Wielenberg, Value and virtue in a godless universe. Cambridge University Press, 2005. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews ISSN: 1538-1617
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Rough justice: some thoughts on Charles Murray’s Simple Justice. In: Murray, C. , (eds.) Simple Justice. Civitas , London. pp. 57-63. ISBN: 9781903386446
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Foreword. In: Williams, B. , (eds.) Descartes: the project of pure enquiry. Routledge , London. pp. ix-xii. ISBN: 9780415356275
- Cottingham, J. (2005) Why should analytic philosophers do history of philosophy. In: Sorell, T. and Rogers, G. , (eds.) Analytic philosophy and history of philosophy. Clarendon Press , Oxford. pp. 25-41. ISBN: 9780199278992
- Cottingham, J. (2005) The spiritual dimension: religion, philosophy and human value. Cambridge University Press , Cambridge. pp 186. ISBN: 9780511131219
- Cottingham, J. (2004) Our natural guide...: conscience, 'nature' and moral experience. In: Oderberg, D. and Chappell, T. , (eds.) Human values: new essays on ethics and natural law. 1st edition. Palgrave Macmillan , London, UK. pp. 11-31. ISBN: 9781403918109
- Cottingham, J. (2004) Faith. In: Papineau, . , (eds.) Philosophy: the illustrated guide to understanding and using philosophy. Duncan Baird Publishers , London, UK. pp. 106-131. ISBN: 9781844830459
- Cottingham, J. (2004) The concept of the profound: a reply to Perniola. In: Boderi, . , (eds.) Recostruzione della soggettivita. Liguiri , Naples, Italy. pp. 221-227.
- Cottingham, J. (2004) Reason and passion / passions and reason: notes on metaphysics, anthropology and ethics in Descartes and Vico. Bollettino del Centro di Studi Vichiani , 33 pp. 209-231. ISSN: 0392-7334
- Cottingham, J. (2004) English translation of letter 1: Descartes to Van Hogelande. British Journal for the History of Philosophy , 12 (3). pp. 382-384. ISSN: 1469-3526 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0960878042000253060
- Cottingham, J. (2004) Review of 'Spinoza: metaphysical themes' edited by O. Koistinen and J. Biro. Philosophical Quarterly , 54 (217). pp. 627-628. ISSN: 1467-9213 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0031-8094.2004.00378.x
- Cottingham, J. (2004) Book review of Descartes' concept of mind by L. Alanen. International Philosophical Quarterly , 44 (4). pp. 594-596. ISSN: 2153-8077
- Cottingham, J. (2003) On the meaning of life. Routledge , London, UK. pp 119. ISBN: 9780203164242
- Cottingham, J. (2003) Spirituality, science and morality. In: Carr, . and Haldane, . , (eds.) Spirituality, philosophy and education . Routledge , London, UK. pp. 40-54. ISBN: 9780415296694
- Cottingham, J. (2003) The ultimate incoherence? Descartes and the passions. In: Auxier, . and Hahn, . , (eds.) The philosophy of Marjorie Grene. The library of living philosophers Open Court (29). , Chicago, USA. pp. 451-464. ISBN: 9780812695274
- Cottingham, J. (2003) The career and its role in conceptions of the good life. New Academy Review , 2 (2). pp. 88-91. ISSN: 1476-7201
- Cottingham, J. (2003) Review of 'Descartes' system of natural philosophy' by S. Gaukroger. European Journal of Philosophy , 11 (3). pp. 424-426. ISSN: 1468-0378 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0378.00194
- Cottingham, J. (2003) Review of 'Ethical formation' by S. Lovibond. Ethics , 113 (2). pp. 434-436. ISSN: 1539-297X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/343019
- Cottingham, J. (2003) Book review of 'Inheritance and originality: Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Kierkegaard' by S. Mulhall. Religious Studies , 39 (1). pp. 111-121. ISSN: 1469-901X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0034412503226494
- Cottingham, J. (2002) Book review of 'Morals from motives' by M. Slote. Utilitas , 14 (3). pp. 401-403. ISSN: 1741-6183 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S095382080000368X