The Christianization of Pyrrhonism: Scepticism and Faith in Pascal, Kierkegaard, and Shestov

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Springer Science & Business Media, Jul 31, 1995 - History - 151 pages
Augustine's christianization of Plato and Thomas Aquinas's of Aristotle provided the two main foundations of medieval Judeo- Christian philosophy. In The Christianization of Pyrrhonism, José R. Maia Neto shows that Greek scepticism played a similar role in the development of a major strand of modern religious thought. From the Jansenist reaction of Molinism in the early 17th century to Shestov's resistance to the arrival of Kantian enlightenment in Russia in the late 19th century, Greek scepticism was reconstructed in terms of Christian doctrines and used against major secular philosophers who posed threats to religion. At the same time, the ancient sceptics' practical stance was attacked in order that it does not constitute a viable alternative to the modern secular philosophies. The resulting Christianized Pyrrhonism would be the basis for a genuine Christian or Biblical thought, for the first time emancipated from the rationalist assumptions and methods of Greek philosophy. The Christianization of Pyrrhonism is extremely valuable for those interested in the modern developments of ancient scepticism, in the relations between religious and philosophical ideas in modernity, and for scholars and the general public interested in Pascal, Kierkegaard and Shestov.

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Contents

Before the Christianization of Pyrrhonism Jansenism Faces Sceptical Fideism
1
12 Michel de Montaigne
10
13 Pierre Charron
17
14 SAintCyran versus Garasse on Charron
25
15 Francois De La Mothe Le Vayer
30
Pascals Christianization of Pyrrhonism
37
22 Undoing Ataraxia
47
23 Undoing Intellectual Integrity
53
34 Pascal and Kierkegaard
83
After the Christianization of Pyrrhonism Shestovs Irrationalism
90
42 Scepticism Belief and the Doctrine of the Fall
94
43 Shestoc on Pascal
103
44 Shestov on Kierkegaard
109
CONCLUSION
120
APPENDIX
129
BIBLIOGRAPHY
137

Kierkegaards Christianization of Pyrrhonism
65
The Preface before Authorship
71
The Works by Johannes Climacus
73

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