Exuberant Skepticism PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Exuberant Skepticism PDF full book. Access full book title Exuberant Skepticism by Paul Kurtz. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Paul Kurtz
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615929703
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Get Book Here
Book Description
For more than three decades, philosopher Paul Kurtz has been a strong advocate of skepticism, not only as a philosophical position, but also as a fulfilling way of life. Contrary to the view that skepticism is merely a negative, nay saying, or debunking stance toward commonly held beliefs, skepticism as defined by Kurtz emerges reborn as "skeptical inquiry"—a decidedly positive philosophy ready and able to change the world. In this definitive collection, editor John R. Shook has gathered together seventeen of Paul Kurtz’s most penetrating and insightful writings. Altogether these essays build an affirmative case for what can be known based on sound common sense, reason, and scientific method. And as each essay cogently and convincingly explains, so much can be known, from the natural world around us to the moral responsibilities among us. The work is organized in four topical sections. In the first, "Reasons to Be Skeptical," Kurtz presents compelling reasons why the methods of inquiry used by the sciences deserve respect. In short, science provides reliable knowledge, without which humanity would never have emerged from the age of myth and widespread ignorance. In the second section, "Skepticism and the Non-Natural," Kurtz shows how skeptical inquiry can be fruitfully used to critique both paranormal claims and religious worldviews. He also investigates whether science and religion can be compatible. In the third section, "Skepticism in the Human World," he considers how skeptical inquiry can be applied to politics, ethics, and pursuit of the good life. Realizing the essential connections between scientific knowledge, technological power, and social progress, Kurtz has understood, as few philosophers ever have, how the methods of intelligence can be applied to all areas of human endeavor. The book concludes with Kurtz’s authoritative reflections on the skeptical movement that he founded and has led. As he explains, the forces of blind faith and stubborn unreason still fight for control of the mind, so the skeptic can never rest. If there is a brighter future for humanity, a future in which every person enjoys a realistic opportunity for the pursuit of excellence, Kurtz’s ‘exuberant skepticism’ can show us the way.
Author: Paul Kurtz
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615929703
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Get Book Here
Book Description
For more than three decades, philosopher Paul Kurtz has been a strong advocate of skepticism, not only as a philosophical position, but also as a fulfilling way of life. Contrary to the view that skepticism is merely a negative, nay saying, or debunking stance toward commonly held beliefs, skepticism as defined by Kurtz emerges reborn as "skeptical inquiry"—a decidedly positive philosophy ready and able to change the world. In this definitive collection, editor John R. Shook has gathered together seventeen of Paul Kurtz’s most penetrating and insightful writings. Altogether these essays build an affirmative case for what can be known based on sound common sense, reason, and scientific method. And as each essay cogently and convincingly explains, so much can be known, from the natural world around us to the moral responsibilities among us. The work is organized in four topical sections. In the first, "Reasons to Be Skeptical," Kurtz presents compelling reasons why the methods of inquiry used by the sciences deserve respect. In short, science provides reliable knowledge, without which humanity would never have emerged from the age of myth and widespread ignorance. In the second section, "Skepticism and the Non-Natural," Kurtz shows how skeptical inquiry can be fruitfully used to critique both paranormal claims and religious worldviews. He also investigates whether science and religion can be compatible. In the third section, "Skepticism in the Human World," he considers how skeptical inquiry can be applied to politics, ethics, and pursuit of the good life. Realizing the essential connections between scientific knowledge, technological power, and social progress, Kurtz has understood, as few philosophers ever have, how the methods of intelligence can be applied to all areas of human endeavor. The book concludes with Kurtz’s authoritative reflections on the skeptical movement that he founded and has led. As he explains, the forces of blind faith and stubborn unreason still fight for control of the mind, so the skeptic can never rest. If there is a brighter future for humanity, a future in which every person enjoys a realistic opportunity for the pursuit of excellence, Kurtz’s ‘exuberant skepticism’ can show us the way.
Author: Anton M. Matytsin
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421420538
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377
Get Book Here
Book Description
Enlightenment confidence in the power of human reason was earned by grappling with the challenge of philosophical skepticism. The ancient Greek philosophy of Pyrrhonian skepticism spread across a wide spectrum of disciplines in the 1600s, casting a shadow over the European learned world. The early modern skeptics expressed doubt concerning the existence of an objective reality independent of human perception. They also questioned long-standing philosophical assumptions and, at times, undermined the foundations of political, moral, and religious authorities. How did eighteenth-century scholars overcome this skeptical crisis of confidence to usher in the so-called Age of Reason? In The Specter of Skepticism in the Age of Enlightenment, Anton Matytsin describes how skeptical rhetoric forced philosophers to formulate the principles and assumptions that they found to be certain or, at the very least, highly probable. In attempting to answer the deep challenge of philosophical skepticism, these thinkers explicitly articulated the rules for attaining true and certain knowledge and defined the boundaries beyond which human understanding could not venture. Matytsin explains the dialectical outcome of the philosophical disputes between the skeptics and their various opponents in France, the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, and Prussia. He shows that these exchanges transformed skepticism by mitigating its arguments while broadening the learned world’s confidence in the capacities of reason by moderating its aspirations. Ultimately, the debates about the powers and limits of human understanding led to the making of a new conception of rationality that privileged practicable reason over speculative reason. Matytsin also complicates common narratives about the Enlightenment by demonstrating that most of the thinkers who defended reason from skeptical critiques were religiously devout. By attempting either to preserve or to reconstruct the foundations of their worldviews and systems of thought, they became important agents of intellectual change and formulated new criteria of doubt and certainty. This complex and engaging book offers a powerful new explanation of how Enlightenment thinkers came to understand the purposes and the boundaries of rational inquiry.
Author: Kevin McCain
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004393536
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Get Book Here
Book Description
The thirteen newly commissioned essays in The Mystery of Skepticism: New Explorations represent the cutting-edge of research on underexplored skeptical challenges, dimensions of the skeptical problematic, and responses to various kinds of skepticism.
Author: Diego Machuca
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472511492
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 768
Get Book Here
Book Description
Skepticism: From Antiquity to the Present is an authoritative and up-to-date survey of the entire history of skepticism. Divided chronologically into ancient, medieval, renaissance, modern, and contemporary periods, and featuring 50 specially-commissioned chapters from leading philosophers, this comprehensive volume is the first of its kind. By exploring each of the distinct traditions and providing expert insights, this extensive reference work: - covers major thinkers such as Sextus Empiricus, Cicero, Descartes, Hume, Spinoza, and Wittgenstein. - acknowledges the influence of ancient skeptical traditions on later philosophy and explains why it is still a fertile topic of inquiry among today's philosophers and historians of philosophy. - analyzes various forms of skepticism including Pyrrhonian, Academic, religious, moral, and neo-Pyrrhonian. - addresses issues in contemporary epistemology and indicates new directions of study. Skepticism, a driving force in the history of philosophy, remains at the center of debates in ethics, philosophy of religion, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. Skepticism: From Antiquity to the Present is an essential point of reference for any student, researcher, or practitioner of philosophy, presenting a systematic and historical survey of this core philosophical topic.
Author: Sextus Empiricus
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691215367
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Get Book Here
Book Description
How ancient skepticism can help you attain tranquility by learning to suspend judgment Along with Stoicism and Epicureanism, Skepticism is one of the three major schools of ancient Greek philosophy that claim to offer a way of living as well as thinking. How to Keep an Open Mind provides an unmatched introduction to skepticism by presenting a fresh, modern translation of key passages from the writings of Sextus Empiricus, the only Greek skeptic whose works have survived. While content in daily life to go along with things as they appear to be, Sextus advocated—and provided a set of techniques to achieve—a radical suspension of judgment about the way things really are, believing that such nonjudging can be useful for challenging the unfounded dogmatism of others and may help one achieve a state of calm and tranquility. In an introduction, Richard Bett makes the case that the most important lesson we can draw from Sextus’s brand of skepticism today may be an ability to see what can be said on the other side of any issue, leading to a greater open-mindedness. Complete with the original Greek on facing pages, How to Keep an Open Mind offers a compelling antidote to the closed-minded dogmatism of today’s polarized world.
Author: José Raimundo Maia Neto
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004177841
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Get Book Here
Book Description
Since the publication of the first edition of Richard Popkin s classic The History of Scepticism in 1960, skepticism has been increasingly recognized as a major force in the development of early modern philosophy. This book provides a review of current scholarship and significant updated research on some of the main thinkers and issues related to the reappraisal of ancient skepticism in the modern age. Special attention is given to the nature, importance, and relation to religion of Montaigne s and Hume s skepticisms; to the various skeptical and non-skeptical sources of Cartesian doubt; to the skeptical and anti-skeptical impact of Cartesianism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; and to philosophers who dealt with skeptical issues in the development of their own various intellectual interests.
Author: John Greco
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199909857
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 623
Get Book Here
Book Description
In the history of philosophical thought, few themes loom as large as skepticism. Skepticism has been the most visible and important part of debates about knowledge. Skepticism at its most basic questions our cognitive achievements, challenges our ability to obtain reliable knowledge; casting doubt on our attempts to seek and understand the truth about everything from ethics, to other minds, religious belief, and even the underlying structure of matter and reality. Since Descartes, the defense of knowledge against skepticism has been one of the primary tasks not just of epistemology but philosophy itself. The Oxford Handbook of Skepticism features twenty-six newly commissioned chapters by top figures in the field. Part One contains articles explaining important kinds of skeptical reasoning. Part Two focuses on responses to skeptical arguments. Part Three concentrates on important contemporary issues revolving around skepticism. As the first volume of its kind, the articles make significant contributions to the debate on skepticism.
Author: J. van der Zande
Publisher: Springer
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 496
Get Book Here
Book Description
This ground-breaking collection of essays puts an end to the common notion that Kant solved the problem of skepticism. Commemorating C.F. Stäudlin, the first historian of skepticism (1794), scholars of various disciplines in unique collaboration disclose the continuing importance of the sceptical tradition in Germany, France, and Britain. Their wide-ranging studies cover Hume, Kant, and the philosophical situation in Germany both before and after Kant, particularly the all-but-forgotten Stäudlin himself. But they also investigate the role of skepticism in the political thought of Burke and Tocqueville, in de the development of mathematical thought (Montucla) and in science (Alexander von Humboldt, Laplace, and others), and in the context of such social issues as smallpox inoculation, suicide, and capital punishment. The collection fills a major gap in the history of skepticism, emphasizing the significance of skepticism for modern life and philosophy. It is of special interest to philosophers, historians, and political scientists.
Author: Juan Comesaña
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000568237
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 140
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book introduces students and other interested readers to the philosophical study of skepticism, a central and long-standing subject in philosophy. The first three chapters cover knowledge, providing the necessary foundation for introducing skepticism in the book's final three chapters. Throughout, the volume addresses basic questions in these two areas, such as: What are the differences between the three types of knowledge: direct knowledge, knowledge by ability, and propositional knowledge? What is the Gettier problem and why does it resist easy solutions? Why do philosophers still talk about René Descartes’ techniques for raising doubts about what we can know but have largely forgotten Descartes’ attempts to answer these doubts? How do we know that we’re not just brains in a vat? Is Pyrrhonian skepticism—the idea that we know absolutely nothing—ultimately self-refuting? With a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading, Skepticism: The Basics is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a lively and accessible foray into the study of epistemology. Key Features and Benefits: Cover both traditional topics – like the tripartite conception of knowledge – and emerging issues, like knowledge-first epistemology and concessive responses to inductive skepticism Demystifies an area where beginners frequently get stuck: the difference between common-sense skepticism and philosophical skepticism Clearly explains the important contributions from historical and contemporary thinkers, like Descartes, Hume, Popper, Quine, Dretske, Strawson, Nozick, and Sosa
Author: Contributors include Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, Gerrie Paino, Carol Ardell and 109 luminaries whose work is briefly cited to support or inform the material in the book
Publisher: Donald B. Ardell
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book is a 30 Day plan for gaining more freedom from religion. "Freedom From Religion in 30 Days" (FFR) is an antidote for anti-democratic tendencies, irrationality, tribalism and intolerance. It also offers relief from the mental constraints of dogmas, creeds, and superstitions. Religion, as promoted by Christian Nationalists, obstructs and threatens our wellbeing and freedoms. Christopher Hitchens best-seller, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," seems increasingly apt. In FFR, a case is made that religions poison not quite everything, but more than enough to make it a mental health and quality of life hazard. Whether you're a believer, a devout freethinker, or someone in-between, you will find each of the 30 days meets three standards: 1) engaging; 2) entertaining; and 3) informative. My goal is that FFR will hold your attention for a solid month, and benefit you even longer. WHY IT MATTERS FFR is about breaking away from the false claims and destructive effects of religion. It's also about the positive nature of a REAL wellness way to think more critically, live more exuberantly and enjoy more personal liberties. A large number of freedoms are available for the taking, once mental constraints of creeds and dogmas are eliminated. This book promotes: 1. Science-based critical thinking, using reason to guide important decisions. Few decisions are as important as what you believe about religions, especially the one in which you were indoctrinated. 2. Happiness, joy, fun, adventure, meaning and purpose in life. These are the key elements in the REAL wellness dimension of exuberance. 3. Freedom to live the kind of life you desire. This is the liberty dimension of REAL wellness. THE 30 DAY FORMAT All 30 essays address some aspect of religion as it affects mental freedoms that shape values, commitments, beliefs, behaviors and ultimately quality of life and wellbeing. The format is inspired by Wilfred Funk's, "30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary." Within the 30 essays are four self-evaluations focused upon reason, exuberance, personal liberties and management of stress. Over 30 topics are covered in the essays, though religion is a theme throughout. The topics, besides religion in general and Christianity in particular, include politics, heroic freethinkers, mountebanks, dubious and needed holidays, ethics, prayers, play, commandments, parenting, happiness, sexuality, doubt, aging and death. In addition to informing and entertaining, FFR advances skills and awareness needed to slow the frightful trends that threaten our national interests. THE PRISON OF BELIEF Although Christianity no longer has the power it wielded in the Middle Ages, and thus no longer engages in atrocities, such as the Inquisition's auto de fé carnival-like public executions of heretics, it has another insidious liability--it imprisons the brains of adherents, thereby diminishing our democracy and crippling our personal freedoms and opportunities for exuberant lives. James Haught put it this way: When people accept supernatural claims of a religion, their lives are altered. They commit themselves to belief in miracles, prophecies and similar magic, which orients their view of reality. It confines them—hindering their ability to consider other possibilities. This narrowed lifestyle can be called 'the prison of belief.' This book will delight you if you're no longer willing to go along with pablum babble in ritual blather, such as In God we trust, so help me God or God bless America. ================== TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION PRAISE FOR FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOREWORD INTRODUCTION THE 30 DAYS FOR FREEDOM FROM RELIGION Day 1 Questions To Guide A REAL Wellness Philosophy and Lifestyle Day 2 Religion and Wellbeing Day 3 Perspectives on Radical Islam and Christian Nationalism Day 4 Doubt: A Vital Quality for Effective Decision-Making Day 5 Why Catholics Should Consider Leaving the Church Day 6 An Upgrade from 10 Commandments to 10 REAL Commitments Day 7 Use Your Mind and You Will Find Nothing Fails Like Prayer Day 8 The National Day of Prayer Or a National Day of Reason Day 9 Exceptional People, the Winter Solstice and Christmas Day 10 Self-Evaluation to Estimate Your Experience of Reason Day 11 It's Difficult to be Well but, w/a Little Bit of Luck, You Might... Day 12 A REAL Wellness Take on Ethics Day 13 Robert G. Ingersoll Day 14 Play: An Under-Utilized Element in Education and Adult Life Day 15 Self-Evaluation of Stress Awareness and Management Day 16 Exuberant Skepticism: A Safeguard Against Pleasant Illusions Day 17 Dysfunctional Belief Systems and Anxieties, Magical Thinking Day 18 Life Is Meaningless: A Liberating REAL Wellness Perspective Day 19 Nothing Is Sacred Day 20 Self-Evaluation to Estimate Your Experience of Exuberance Day 21 Sexuality From a REAL Wellness Perspective Day 22 A REAL Perspective on the Satanic Temple Day 23 Real Wellness Or Religion: Choose Freedom, Not Dogma Day 24 Guiding Children Toward Critical Thinking and Mental Freedom Day 25 Happiness: REAL Wellness Perspectives on Enjoying Life Day 26 Reason-Based Alternatives To Alcoholics Anonymous Day 27 Which Will Come First: The Rapture Or the Demise of Religion Day 28 Celebrate Those Who Promote Reason & Science, Not Superstition Day 29 How to Die Healthy Day 30 Self-Evaluation to Estimate Experience of Personal Freedoms RECOMMENDED READING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO EVERYONE, LIVING AND DEAD, WHOSE WORDS ARE QUOTED IN "FREEDOM FROM RELIGION IN 30 DAYS"
