Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment, Hardcover by Matytsin, Ant...

Description: The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment, Hardcover by Matytsin, Antton Condition is Brand New. No faults. Fresh and clean. Packed carefully and shipped US Media Mail with Tracking. We are happy to combine items to save you money on shipping. We can send you three typical DVDs for the price of 1. Just put your selection in your shopping cart and press the Request Total button (top right) and we will get back to you with the lowest combined shipping price. From the flyleaf: THE ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY OF Pyrrhonian skepticism spread across a wide spectrum of disciplines in the 1600s, casting a shadow over the European learned world. The early modern skeptics expressed doubt concerning the existence of an objective reality independent of human perception. They also questioned long-standing philosophical assumptions and, at times, undermined the foundations of political, moral, and religious authority. How did eighteenth-century scholars overcome this skeptical crisis of confidence to usher in the so-called Age of Reason? In The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment, Anton M. Matytsin describes how skeptical rhetoric forced philosophers to formulate the principles. and assumptions that they found to be certain or, at the very least, highly probable. In attempting to answer the deep challenge of philosophical skepticism, these thinkers explicitly articulated the rules for attaining true and certain knowledge and defined the boundaries beyond which human understanding could not venture. Matytsin explains the dialectical outcome of the philosophical disputes between the skeptics and their various opponents in France, the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, and Prussia. He shows that these exchanges transformed skepticism by mitigating its arguments while broadening the learned world's confidence in the capacities of reason by moderating its aspirations. Ultimately, the debates about the powers and limits of human understanding led to the making of a new conception of rationality that privileged practicable reason over speculative reason. Matytsin also complicates common narratives about the Enlightenment by demonstrating that most of the thinkers who defended reason from skeptical critiques were religiously devout. By attempting either to preserve or to reconstruct the foundations of their worldviews and systems of thought, they became important agents of intellectual change and formulated new criteria of doubt and certainty. This complex and engaging book offers a powerful new explanation of how Enlightenment thinkers came to understand the purposes and the boundaries of rational inquiry. Anton M. Matytsin is an assistant professor of history at Kenyon College. From the back cover: "Elegantly written and broadly informed, this sophisticated study of eighteenth century efforts to secure 'reason' against the onslaught of 'doubt will be essential reading for anyone interested in the European Enlightenment and its aftermath. With insight and erudition, Matytsin explores an essential context for understand ing eighteenth-century thought-the persistent specter of skepticism-showing us that the so-called Age of Reason was also a critical and creative 'Age of Doubt." -DARRIN M. MCMAHON, Dartmouth College "An ambitious and excellent study, The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment is an important reminder that every movement in the history of ideas or philosophy needs to be understood in terms of who is debating with it, and why." -JOHN CHRISTIAN LAURSEN, University of California-Riverside "While we reflexively apply Kant's adage 'dare to know' to the Enlightenment, Anton Matytsin argues in this brilliant and recondite book that eighteenth century philosophy is better understood as a response to the opposite injunction: the skeptical call 'not to know' and to doubt all knowledge. Faced with the prospect of general uncertainty, Enlightenment philosophers devised new arguments and probabilistic methods for grounding knowledge. This book will be required reading for anyone grappling with questions about epistemology in the so-called Age of Reason." -DAN EDELSTEIN, Stanford University By the way: For the philanthropists out there, the vast majority of the items sold by us (GutenburgReads), are for the benefit of The Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston-Salem, whose mission is to help house-bound seniors live full and independent lives in their own homes. The center provides transportation to medical appointments and grocery shopping, assistance with minor repairs around the house, and companionship through visits. The citizens of Winston-Salem generously donate books, music, movies, and more to us to help us achieve our mission. By buying useful items from us, you will be helping the less fortunate in our city. Listing and template services provided by inkFrog

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End Time: 2024-02-29T20:08:23.000Z

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