Book excerpt: First Published in 1999. The purpose of this series is to provide a contemporary assessment and history of the-entire course of philosophical thought. Each book constitutes a detailed, critical introduction to the work of a philosopher of major influence and significance. Butler’s writings are not voluminous, and he does not offer us a philosophical system. But he is generally regarded as among the very finest English moralists, and although his reputation in this respect has declined, he was for a long time considered to be a great philosophical theologian. In the course of his work in these spheres, he also produces some classic arguments in the philosophy of mind and action.