Description
Contemporary debates about faith and scepticism are best understood by tracing the development of our current assumptions back to their historical roots. Scepticism, particularly in the west, has its foundation in Socrates' famous claim that his knowledge of his own ignorance made him the wisest of men. Socrates' intellectual humility was then translated into the Christian philosophical tradition, where it came into contact with the doctrines of divine revelation and original sin. This Element will select key historical figures to illustrate the impact that belief in God has had on how we assess the claims of scepticism, and on how scepticism impacts belief in God.
Table of Contents
1. Scepticism in the character of Socrates; 2. Augustine's Christian vision; 3. The medieval shift; 4. The crisis of modernism; 5. The enlightenment and existentialism; 6. Scepticism and belief in the twentieth century; Conclusion; Works cited.
