Overview

Although many historical narratives often describe the eighteenth century as an unalloyed ‘Age of Reason’, Enlightenment thinkers continued to grapple with the challenges posed by the revival and spread of philosophical skepticism. The imperative to overcome doubt and uncertainty informed some of the most innovative characteristics of eighteenth-century intellectual culture, including not only debates about epistemology and metaphysics but also matters of jurisprudence, theology, history, moral philosophy, and politics. Thinkers of this period debated about, established, and productively worked for progress within the parameters of the increasingly circumscribed boundaries of human reason. No longer considered innate and consistently perfect, reason instead became conceived as a faculty that was inherently fallible, limited by personal experiences, and in need of improvement throughout the course of any individual’s life. In its depiction of a complicated, variegated, and diverse Enlightenment culture, this volume examines the process by which philosophical skepticism was challenged and gradually tamed to bring about an anxious confidence in the powers of human understanding. The various contributions collectively demonstrate that philosophical skepticism, and not simply unshakable confidence in the powers of reason or the optimistic assumption about inevitable human improvement, was, in fact, the crucible of the Enlightenment process itself.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jeffrey D. Burson ,  Anton M. Matytsin
Publisher:   Liverpool University Press
Imprint:   Voltaire Foundation
Volume:   2019:03
ISBN:  

9781786941947

ISBN 10:   1786941945
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   11 March 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Anton M. Matytsin and Jeffrey D. Burson, Introduction: from an “age Of skepticism” to an “age Of reason” Jeffrey D. Burson, Healing the skeptical crisis and rectifying Cartesianisms: the notion of the Jesuit synthesis revisited Elena Rapetti, “A man who sticks only to his own sentiments”: Pierre-Daniel Huet’s Traité philosophique de la foiblesse de l’esprit humain Martin Mulsow and John Christian Laursen, Georg Michael Heber on legal and (possibly) religious skepticism in early Enlightenment Germany Sébastien Charles, George Berkeley, or the skeptic in spite of himself Rodrigo Brandão, Voltaire and modern skeptical doubt John P. Wright, Skepticism and incomprehensibility in Bayle and Hume Anton M. Matytsin, Taming thought with practice: philosophical skepticism in the Encyclopédie Alan Charles Kors, Political skepticism in Holbach’s circle Summaries Biographies of contributors Bibliography Index

Reviews

'All in all, this is a volume which should be read by every scholar of the eighteenth century, of the history of ideas, and of the history of religion.' 'The editors are to be congratulated for bringing to fruition this volume of essays, and for making a clear and convincing argument for the importance of skepticism in the Enlightenment.' Dorinda Outram, H-France Review * H-France Review *

Author Information

Jeffrey D. Burson is Associate Professor of French History and the Enlightenment at Georgia Southern University. He is the author of 'The Rise and Fall of Theological Enlightenment: Jean-Martin de Prades and Ideological Polarization in Eighteenth-Century France' (University of Notre Dame Press, 2010), and 'The Culture of Enlightening and the Entangled Life of Abbé Claude Yvon' (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019), in addition to numerous articles and chapters in edited collections of essays. He is co-editor, with Ulrich L. Lehner, of 'Enlightenment and Catholicism in Europe: A Transnational History' (University of Notre Dame Press, 2014) and, with Jonathan Wright, of 'The Jesuit Suppression in Global Context: Causes, Events, and Consequences' (Cambridge University Press, 2015). Anton M. Matytsin is Assistant Professor of European History at Kenyon College. He is the author of 'The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016) and co-editor, with Dan Edelstein, of 'Let There Be Enlightenment: The Religious and Mystical Sources of Rationality' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018).

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