Introduction: Lessons from Pyrrhonian Skepticism

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Del curso dictado por Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Politics of Skepticism

15 calificaciones

Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Politics of Skepticism

15 calificaciones

This is a course about the history of Skepticism from the ancient Greeks to today, with special attention to the political ramifications of questioning man's ability to know the world and himself with any certainty. We will discuss the debates raging between Plato and the Sophists, the rise of Christianity in the Roman world, and the so-called 'Skeptical Crisis' of the Renaissance as well as Pierre Bayle's Skepticism and David Hume's. In addition the Natural Law tradition will be explored and the relationship between Skepticism and Conservatism. In the second part, we will explore the systematic relations between Skepticism and politics. What is skeptical doubt? When is doubt relevant? How does Skepticism relate to tolerance and to freedom of expression? And can it help us to solve political problems not only in a critical, but also in a creative way?

De la lección

Fallibilism, prejudices and toleration: Lessons from Pyrrhonian Skepticism

We will address the question whether, in what sense, and to what extent, Skepticism provides good reasons to do away with prejudices and to adopt religious tolerance. First we will distinguish carefully between belief and truth. Then we will consider the attitude of the positive Skeptic: truth exists, but all our beliefs are and remain prejudices. Finally, we will investigate the role that this epistemic predicament plays in arguments for toleration.

Introduction: Lessons from Pyrrhonian Skepticism2:52

Conoce a los instructores

Wiep van Bunge
Prof. dr.
Faculty of Philosophy
Tim De Mey
Dr.
Faculty of Philosophy

[MUSIC]

Today, we are extremely grateful to be hosted by Thalia Theatre in Hamburg.

Why Hamburg?

Why Talia Teatre?

Hamburg, because of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

Italia theater because of it's yearly international theater festival

Lessingtage.

So why Lessing?

Because Lessing's friendship with the Jewish-German philosopher

Moses Mendelssohn.

And moreover, most if not all of Lessing's writings, especially his ideendrama,

Nathan der Weise, together constitute what the biographer of Mendelsohn's quotes

the declare call of the enlightenment for religious tolerance, end quotes.

We here in Hamburg Thalia Theatre to address the question whether in what sense

and to what extent skepticism provides good reasons

to do away with prejudices and to adopt religious and inter-religious tolerance.

The motto of a recent edition of the lesson target

could have been our motto as well, God's Command, Give Me a Break.

In the first clip,

you will learn how to make a sharp distinction between belief and truths.

If you believe something, you believe that it is true, you accept what you believe

as true, but unless you are truth relativist the actual

truths of what you believe is being true or not is a course of a different color.

Whether what you believe is in fact true

depends on whether it corresponds with the world, with reality.

In a second clip, this distinction between belief and truths will help you to

understand and perhaps also to adapt the attitude of the positive skeptic,

the truth exists but we can never know whether what we believe,

what we accept as true is in fact true.

Whether it corresponds with reality.

As a result, all our beliefs are and will always remain deep down prejudices.

In clip three, you will learn to understand and appreciate how

the realization that other people having other beliefs are in the very same

epistemic predicament can motivate to adopt a modern styles and to argue for

metaphysical toleration in general and religious toleration in particular.

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