Skepticism in the Modern Age ─ Building on the Work of Richard Popkin

The scholars whose work is presented here were all influenced by the theories of Richard Popkin (1923-2005) on the sixteenth-century rediscovery of the Greek philosophy of skepticism. His work cast a new light on the milieu in which men such as Erasmus, Montaigne, Descartes and Hume developed their philosophies. Maia Nete (philosophy, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil), Paganini (history of philosophy, University of Piedmont, Italy) and Laursen (political science, University of California, Riverside) selected the papers from those given at a memorial conference for Popkin held in Brazil in 2007. Popkin's career and influence is outlined, including an article by his son that draws from private correspondence. The essays are grouped by era, starting with Montaigne and skeptical influences on him. The second part looks at other early modern thinkers not thought of as skeptics but who show signs of it: Francis Bacon, Guicciardini, Pedro de Valencia and La Peyree. The third part is on the work of Sorbiere, Monataigne and Bayle on skepticism in politics. Descartes is the topic of the next six essays, which demonstrate that his skepticism was not sui generis. The final section is on skepticism in Hume. The editors note that individual chapters could be assigned in philosophy classes. Many would also be ideal in early modern history and literature courses as well as background reading in current political science classes. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jose R. Maia Neto, Ph.D. (1991) in Philosophy, Washington University, is Professor of Philosophy at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He has published extensively on early modern skepticism including, with Richard Popkin, Skepticism: an Anthology (Prometheus, 2007). John Christian Laursen, Ph.D. (1985) in Political Science, The Johns Hopkins University, is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. He has published widely on skepticism, cynicism, cosmopolitanism, monarchism, and freedom of the press. Gianni Paganini, Professor of History of Philosophy at University of Piedmont (Italy) has widely published on the history of skepticism and libertinism, as well as on Hobbes and Gassendi. His most recent book is:Skepsis. Le debat des modernes sur le scepticisme (Paris, Vrin, 2008).