Mary Astell on Self-Improvement, Friendship, and Religion

This paper analyses Mary Astell’s approach to self-improvement and friendship. I argue that she offers a practical approach to self-improvement that is deeply embedded in her moral and religious views. Self-improvement for Astell, as I show, is a practical way of life that needs cultivation. Astell regards humans as part of an interconnected social and religious community. Self-improvement for her has a social dimension and involves true friends who are willing to offer honest and critical advice where appropriate, to admonish, and who endeavour the bettering of the other. I engage with recent scholarly debates concerning friendship in Astell’s philosophy. While several commentators explain the relation that exists among friends with focus on the interaction among two (or more) humans, Nacy Kenrick has argued for a spiritual interpretation, according to which the bond created between friends is not so much based on a relation between two (or more) human partners but rather it is created by each human being’s participation in the divine good. While there is good textual evidence for interpreting Astell’s account of friendship within the context of her religious views, I argue that Kendrick could have given further consideration to Astell’s distinction between general charity and friendship and propose an interpretation that addresses the limitations of existing interpretations.