Gay John (1699–1745), British moralist who tried to reconcile divine command theory and utilitarianism. The son of a minister, Gay was elected a fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he taught church history, Hebrew, and Greek. His one philosophical essay, ‘Dissertation Concerning the Fundamental Principle of Virtue or Morality’ (1731), argues that obligation is founded on the will of God, which, because people are destined to be happy, directs us to act to promote the general happiness. Gay offers an associationist psychology according to which we pursue objects that have come to be associated with happiness (e.g. money), regardless of whether they now make us happy, and argues, contra Hutcheson, that our moral sense is conditioned rather than natural. Gay’s blend of utilitarianism with associationist psychology gave David Hartley the basis for his moral psychology, which later influenced Bentham in his formulation of classical utilitarianism. See also HARTLEY, HUTCHESON , MORAL SENSE THEOR. E.S.R.