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Skepticism and Political Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
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Skepticism and Political Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Hardcover - 2015

by John Christian Laursen (Editor); Gianni Paganini (Editor)


From the publisher

In this collection, thirteen distinguished contributors examine the influence of the ancient skeptical philosophy of Pyrrho of Elis and Sextus Empiricus on early modern political thought. Classical skepticism argues that in the absence of certainty one must either suspend judgment and live by habit or act on the basis of probability rather than certainty. In either case, one must reject dogmatic confidence in politics and philosophy.

Surveying the use of skepticism in works by Hobbes, Descartes, Hume, Smith, and Kant, among others, the essays in Skepticism and Political Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries demonstrate the pervasive impact of skepticism on the intellectual landscape of early modern Europe. This volume is not just an authoritative account of skepticism's importance from the Enlightenment to the French Revolution, it is also the basis for understanding skepticism's continuing political implications.

Details

  • Title Skepticism and Political Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
  • Author John Christian Laursen (Editor); Gianni Paganini (Editor)
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Toronto Press, Canada
  • Date 2015
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9781442649217 / 1442649216
  • Weight 1.4 lbs (0.64 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 in (23.11 x 15.75 x 3.30 cm)
  • Themes
    • Aspects (Academic): Philosophical
    • Chronological Period: 18th Century
    • Chronological Period: Ancient (To 499 A.D.)
    • Cultural Region: French
  • Library of Congress subjects Sextus, Skeptics (Greek philosophy)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2015302905
  • Dewey Decimal Code 149.73

About the author

John Christian Laursen is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside.
Gianni Paganini is Professor in the Dipartimento Studi Umanistici at Universit del Piemonte Orientale.