Early Modern Skepticism and the Origins of Toleration / Edition 266

by Alan Levine, Michael Gillespie, Maryanne Cline Horowitz, Alan Craig Houston, Shirley Letwin

Overview

This collection of original essays by the nation's leading political theorists examines the origins of modernity and considers the question of tolerance as a product of early modern religious skepticism. Rather than approaching the problem through a purely historical lens, the authors actively demonstrate the significance of these issues to contemporary debates in political philosophy and public policy. The contributors to Early Modern Skepticism raise and address questions of the utmost significance: Is religious faith necessary for ethical behavior? Is skepticism a fruitful ground from which to argue for toleration? This book will be of interest to historians, philosophers, religious scholars, and political theorists—anyone concerned about the tensions between private beliefs and public behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739100240
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	04/15/1999
Series:	Applications of Political Theory
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Alan Levine is Assistant Professor of Government at American University.

Editorial Reviews

Many excellent American writers have made Montaigne a precursor of modern liberalism. They include. .. Alan Levine (Early Modern Skepticism and the Origins of Toleration).

Times Literary Supplement

Levine and his contributors must be congratulated for producing a uniformly learned and elegant set of inquiries into the foundations of early modern toleration.

American Political Science Review

Levine and his contributors must be congratulated for producing a uniformly learned and elegant set of inquiries into the foundations of early modern toleration.--American Political Science Review

Many excellent American writers have made Montaigne a precursor of modern liberalism. They include . . . Alan Levine (Early Modern Skepticism and the Origins of Toleration).--Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher

Many excellent American writers have made Montaigne a precursor of modern liberalism. They include . . . Alan Levine (Early Modern Skepticism and the Origins of Toleration).

Times Literary Supplement (UK)

While researching Montaigne, Levine began looking for secondary literature on the relationship between skepticism and toleration, but found little. So he has assembled a dozen essays, some written for the volume, others from various conferences, on the subject. Among their perspectives are Luther and Calvin and the limits of reason, French free-thinkers in the first decades of the Edict of Nantes, Descartes, the Levellers, Hobbes, Lock, Pierre Bayle, and Voltaire and Diderot. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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