Richard Cumberland (philosopher)

Richard Cumberland (philosopher)

Richard Cumberland (July 15, 1631 – October 9, 1718) was an English philosopher, and bishop of Peterborough from 1691. In 1672, he published his major work, De legibus naturae (On natural laws), propounding utilitarianism and opposing the egoistic ethics of Thomas Hobbes.

Cumberland was a member of the latitudinarian movement, along with his friend Hezekiah Burton of Magdalene College, Cambridge and closely allied with the Cambridge Platonists, a group of ecclesiastical philosophers centered around Cambridge University in the mid 17th century.