The Return of Scepticism: From Hobbes and Descartes to Bayle (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées (184))

The theme of scepticism has been central in the study of the history of ideas in modern times since Richard Popkin's and Charles Schmitt's works. After them, the assumption connected with the philosophical notion of scepticism was broadened so as to define the critical use of reason and doubt concerning the truth of religion, the function of politics, the aims of science, thus becoming a central intellectual issue in the making of modernity. In this collection of articles (in fact the proceedings of an international conference held in Vercelli) special care is dedicated to placing the theme of scepticism within its philosophical tradition. Moreover, in comparison with other historical studies, the English philosophical thinkers appear here in the foreground, with a number of contributions on Hobbes, Locke, Cambridge Platonists and the Latitude-Men. The French Context also, ranging from Descartes to Malebranche, from Arnauld and Port-Royal to Huet, Bayle and his followers, is explored in depth. Some articles deal with Italian major figures (Vico and Galilei above all) and Spanish culture. Special care is dedicated to the relationships between history of philosophical ideas and the problems rising from the history of sciences (medicine, physics, linguistics, historical scholarship) in the 17th and the 18th centuries. Level of readership or target groups: University Courses, University Libraries, Specialized scholars. Front Matter....Pages i-xxviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Hobbes Among Ancient and Modern Sceptics: Phenomena and Bodies....Pages 3-35 John Locke and the Sceptics....Pages 37-53 ‘Conjecture’, ‘Conceivability’, ‘Existence’ between Henry More and Ralph Cudworth....Pages 55-77 Front Matter....Pages 79-79 Charron’s Epoché and Descartes’ Cogito : The Sceptical Base of Descartes’ Refutation of Scepticism....Pages 81-113 Scepticisme, Tromperie et Mensonge Chez la Mothe le Vayer et Descartes....Pages 115-131 Front Matter....Pages 133-133 Against Descartes: Marten Schoock’s de Scepticismo ....Pages 135-148 Huet, Malebranche and the Birth of Skepticism....Pages 149-165 Arnauld’s Posthumous Defense of the “Philosophie Humaine” Against Heretics and Sceptics....Pages 167-196 Foucher and the Dilemmas of Representation: A ‘Modern’ Problem?....Pages 197-212 Scepticism and Analysis: Villemandy as a Critic of Descartes....Pages 213-229 Sceptical Readings of Cartesian Evidence in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Italy....Pages 231-246 Front Matter....Pages 247-247 Scepticism at Port-Royal: The Perversion of Pyrrhonian Doubt....Pages 249-265 Sorbière’s Scepticism: Between Naturalism and Absolutism....Pages 267-282 Scepticism and the Theory of Toleration: Human Fallibility and Adiaphora....Pages 283-302 Front Matter....Pages 303-303 Medicine and Skepticism: Martín Martínez (1684–1734)....Pages 305-325 From Galileo to Vico: The Uncertainty and Arrogance of Knowledge....Pages 327-341 Scepticism and Semantic Theory from Locke to du Marsais....Pages 343-361 Le Vertige du Pyrrhonisme Hardouin Face à L’histoire....Pages 363-374 Front Matter....Pages 375-375 Théories Sceptiques de la Politique: Montaigne et Bayle....Pages 377-392 Pierre Bayle on Scepticism and “Common Notions”....Pages 393-413 Front Matter....Pages 375-375 Religious Truth and Freedom of Conscience in Noodt and Barbeyrac: The Confrontation with Bayle....Pages 415-427 Front Matter....Pages 429-429 De la Controverse Anti-Romaine à la Théologie Naturelle: Parcours Antisceptiques de Jean-Alphonse Turrettini....Pages 431-447 Formey et Crousaz, ou Comment Fallait-il Combattre le Scepticisme?....Pages 449-461 Jean Meslier, le Doute Méthodique et le Matérialisme....Pages 463-474 Back Matter....Pages 475-495 This collection of articles (the Vercelli conference proceedings) places the theme of scepticism within its philosophical tradition. It explores the English philosophical thinkers, the French context, as well as major Italian figures and Spanish culture. It pays special attention to the relationships between history of philosophical ideas and the problems rising from the history of sciences (medicine, physics, linguistics, historical scholarship) in the 17th and the18th centuries.