Sceptical Paths offers a fresh look at key junctions in the history of scepticism. Throughout this collection, key figures are reinterpreted, key arguments are reassessed, lesser-known figures are reintroduced, accepted distinctions are challenged, and new ideas are explored. The historiography of scepticism is usually based on a distinction between ancient and modern. The former is understood as a way of life which focuses on enquiry, whereas the latter is taken to be an epistemological approach which focuses on doubt. The studies in Sceptical Paths not only deepen the understanding of these approaches, but also show how ancient sceptical ideas find their way into modern thought, and modern sceptical ideas are anticipated in ancient thought. Within this state of affairs, the presence of sceptical arguments within Medieval philosophy is reflected in full force, not only enriching the historical narrative, but also introducing another layer to the sceptical discourse, namely its employment within theological settings. The various studies in this book exhibit the rich variety of expression in which scepticism manifests itself within various context and set against various philosophical and religious doctrines, schools, and approaches.

Funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

In English.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 04. Sep 2019).

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Philo of Alexandria vs. Descartes: An Ignored Jewish Premonitory Critic of the Cogito / Lévy, Carlos -- Sextus ?mpiricus's use of dunamis / Marchand, Stéphane -- Does Pyrrhonism Have Practical or Epistemic Value/ Machuca, Diego E. -- endoxa and the Theology of Aristotle in Avicenna's "Flying Man": Contexts for Similarities with Sceptical and Cartesian Arguments in Avicenna / Eichner, Heidrun -- The Problem of Many Gods in al-Ghazālī, Averroes, Maimonides, Crescas, and Sforno / Harvey, Warren Zev -- What is Maimonidean Scepticism/ Stern, Josef -- Medieval Scepticism and Divine Deception / Lagerlund, Henrik -- Spinoza on Global Doubt / León Serrano, José María Sánchez de -- Scepticism in Early Modern Times / Charles, Sébastien -- Three Varieties of Early Modern Scepticism / Schmid, Stephan -- Narrowing of "Know" as a Contextualist Strategy against Cartesian Sceptical Conclusions / Hernández, Nancy Abigail Nuñez -- List of Contributors -- Index

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