Naturalism and Unbelief in France, 1650–1729

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, History
Cover of the book Naturalism and Unbelief in France, 1650–1729 by Alan Charles Kors, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alan Charles Kors ISBN: 9781316683286
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: June 20, 2016
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Alan Charles Kors
ISBN: 9781316683286
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: June 20, 2016
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Atheism was the most fundamental challenge to early-modern French certainties. Leading educators, theologians and philosophers labelled such atheism as manifestly absurd, confident that neither the fact nor behaviour of nature was explicable without reference to God. The alternative was a categorical naturalism. This book demonstrates that the Christian learned world had always contained the naturalistic 'atheist' as an interlocutor and a polemical foil, and its early-modern engagement and use of the hypothetical atheist were major parts of its intellectual life. In the considerations and polemics of an increasingly fractious orthodox culture, the early-modern French learned world gave real voice and eventually life to that atheistic presence. Without understanding the actual context and convergence of the inheritance, scholarship, fierce disputes, and polemical modes of orthodox culture, the early-modern generation and dissemination of absolute naturalism are inexplicable. This book brings to life that Christian learned culture, its dilemmas, and its unintended consequences.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Atheism was the most fundamental challenge to early-modern French certainties. Leading educators, theologians and philosophers labelled such atheism as manifestly absurd, confident that neither the fact nor behaviour of nature was explicable without reference to God. The alternative was a categorical naturalism. This book demonstrates that the Christian learned world had always contained the naturalistic 'atheist' as an interlocutor and a polemical foil, and its early-modern engagement and use of the hypothetical atheist were major parts of its intellectual life. In the considerations and polemics of an increasingly fractious orthodox culture, the early-modern French learned world gave real voice and eventually life to that atheistic presence. Without understanding the actual context and convergence of the inheritance, scholarship, fierce disputes, and polemical modes of orthodox culture, the early-modern generation and dissemination of absolute naturalism are inexplicable. This book brings to life that Christian learned culture, its dilemmas, and its unintended consequences.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Business of Waste by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Judging Faith, Punishing Sin by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Magnetism and Magnetic Materials by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Insect Ecology by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book The Persistent Power of Human Rights by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Humanitarian Photography by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Mathematical Analysis by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Edmund Spenser and the Eighteenth-Century Book by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book A History of Women's Political Thought in Europe, 1700–1800 by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Indigenous Elites and Creole Identity in Colonial Mexico, 1500–1800 by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Cuba, the United States, and Cultures of the Transnational Left, 1930–1975 by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book A Concise History of the Caribbean by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Theory of Unipolar Politics by Alan Charles Kors
Cover of the book Natural Hazards in Australasia by Alan Charles Kors
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy