Primary Sources:
- Catharine Trotter Cockburn: Philosophical Writings, edited by Patricia Sheridan, Peterborough, ON: Broadwayview Press, 2006.
- Cockburn, Catharine Trotter. The Works of Mrs. Catharine Cockburn, edited by Thomas Birch, 1751, University Microfilms International, 1978. 2 vols.
Secondary Sources:
- Broad, Jacqueline. “Catharine Trotter Cockburn on the Virtue of Atheists.” Intellectual History Review, vol. 31, no. 1, 2 Jan. 2021, pp. 111–128, https://doi.org/10.1080/17496977.2020.1857899.
Jacqueline Broad addresses Cockburn’s ideas on atheists. Cockburn makes the claim that atheists can be and some are virtuous, which leads Broad to assess her in regards to naturalistic ethics. In this paper, Broad addresses Cockburn’s response to William Warburton’s critique of Pierre Bayle’s arguments on the potential of a society with virtuous atheists. In this argument, Cockburn is oscillating between moral naturalism and theistic morality. This paper also draws on letters between Cockburn and her niece to get a fuller understanding of Cockburn’s views on religion.
- Gordon-Roth, J. “Catharine Trotter Cockburn’s Defence of Locke.” The Monist, vol. 98, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2015, pp. 64–76, https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onu008.
While Catharine Trotter Cockburn is most well known for her Defense of Mr. Locke’s Essay of Human Understanding, Jessica Gordon-Roth explores her treatment of Locke’s metaphysical ideas. This article specifically focuses on two of the objections that Cockburn addresses within, mainly dealing with the soul. Cockburn not only offers a compelling opinion to these, but frequently refers back to Locke’s essay.
- Myers, Joanne E. “Catharine Trotter and the Claims of Conscience.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, vol. 31, no. 1-2, 1 Mar. 2012, pp. 53–75, https://doi.org/10.1353/tsw.2012.a517505.
Myers’ paper delves into the more literary side of Cockburn, exploring the idea of voluntarism and religion within her theatrical works. Specifically Myers looks into how Cockburn addresses ideas of consciousness within her works. While some often align Cockburn with the secular ideas of Locke, ultimately this paper argues that she thought more than assumed about religious matters, questioning religion. Offering biographical evidence of Cockburn’s life in regards to religion, Myers argues that her life led to many questions of morals within her works, both philosophical and dramatic.
- Sheridan, Patricia. “On Catharine trotter Cockburn’s Metaphysics of Morality.” Early Modern Women on Metaphysics, edited by Emily Thomas, Cambridge University Press, 2018, pp. 247-265