John Gay (1699–1745), a cousin of the poet

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for '' The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly P ...

, was an English

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, biblical scholar and

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

clergyman. The greatest happiness principle, Gay supposed, represented a middle ground between the egoism of

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

and Hutcheson's moral sense theory.

Education

Gay was educated at Torrington School and

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

. In 1718 he was elected Blundell's Scholar at

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, graduating B.A. in 1721/2 and M.A. in 1725. From 1724 to 1732 he was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the College, lecturing in Hebrew, Greek, and ecclesiastical history.

Philosophy

Gay's philosophical works argued that virtue was conforming to a rule of life which promotes the happiness of others. His short "Dissertation concerning the Fundamental Principle of Virtue or Morality" was first published as a preface to

Edmund Law Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlis ...

's translation of William King's Latin Essay on the Origin of Evil (1731). (Law was

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of ...

and King was

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland ...

.) The "Dissertation" is one of the seminal works in the history of English

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different chara ...

. In the eighteenth century its influence may be found in the works of the theological utilitarians,

Abraham Tucker Abraham Tucker (2 September 1705 – 20 November 1774) was an English country gentleman, who devoted himself to the study of philosophy. He wrote ''The Light of Nature Pursued'' (1768–1777) under the name of Edward Search. Biography Tucker was ...

(''The Light of Nature Pursued'', 7 vols., 1768–1778) and

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natu ...

(''Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy'', 1785). David Hartley said that Gay's assertion of the importance of psychological association in human nature was the origin of his ''

Observations on Man ''Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations'' is 18th-century British philosopher David Hartley's major work. Published in two parts in 1749 by Samuel Richardson, it puts forth Hartley's principal theories: the doctrine of vi ...

'' (1749). In 1730 Gay resigned his fellowship and became

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Wilshamstead, later adding the

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * H ...

Haynes Haynes may refer to: People *Haynes (surname) Places In Australia: * Haynes, Western Australia In Canada: * Haynes, Alberta In the United Kingdom: *Haynes, Bedfordshire **Haynes Church End In the United States: *Haynes, Arkansas *Haynes, North D ...

. He died on 18 July 1745, and was buried at Wilshamstead on 22 July.

Family

He married Elizabeth; they had two sons and four daughters.

References

;Attribution

Sources

''Philosophical Dictionary'', Retrieved 15 December, 2010
*D. D. Raphael, ''British Moralists'' (Hackett, 1990)
John Gay
in ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica Online 15 December 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, John 1699 births 1745 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge English philosophers English Christian theologians 18th-century English Anglican priests English male non-fiction writers