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Academic Skepticism in Seventeenth-Century French PhilosophyLa Mothe Le Vayer’s Attack on Opinion and Superstition

Academic Skepticism in Seventeenth-Century French Philosophy: La Mothe Le Vayer’s Attack on... [François de La Mothe Le Vayer (1588–1672) is usually viewed as a major free thinker and libertine, engaged, through his revival of ancient Pyrrhonism, in destroying Christianity. This chapter focuses on his attack on two main enemies of Charron’s Academic skeptical wisdom: opinion and superstition. By showing the extent to which he was a follower of Charron’s and that Academic skepticism also plays an important role in his work, a different La Mothe Le Vayer emerges. Neither a skeptical apologist nor a disguised libertine, La Mothe Le Vayer is presented as combatting superstition but not as irreligious. Like the ancient Academic skeptics, he is portrayed as genuinely believing in the compatibility between his skepticism and religion, in a way similar to Charron’s view. However, by arguing for the compatibility between skepticism and Christianity, his main interest is to eliminate a major obstacle to the acceptance of the Hellenistic philosophy, not at al to use this philosophy in an apology for Christianity.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Academic Skepticism in Seventeenth-Century French PhilosophyLa Mothe Le Vayer’s Attack on Opinion and Superstition

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
ISBN
978-3-319-07358-3
Pages
67 –96
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-07359-0_4
Publisher site
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Abstract

[François de La Mothe Le Vayer (1588–1672) is usually viewed as a major free thinker and libertine, engaged, through his revival of ancient Pyrrhonism, in destroying Christianity. This chapter focuses on his attack on two main enemies of Charron’s Academic skeptical wisdom: opinion and superstition. By showing the extent to which he was a follower of Charron’s and that Academic skepticism also plays an important role in his work, a different La Mothe Le Vayer emerges. Neither a skeptical apologist nor a disguised libertine, La Mothe Le Vayer is presented as combatting superstition but not as irreligious. Like the ancient Academic skeptics, he is portrayed as genuinely believing in the compatibility between his skepticism and religion, in a way similar to Charron’s view. However, by arguing for the compatibility between skepticism and Christianity, his main interest is to eliminate a major obstacle to the acceptance of the Hellenistic philosophy, not at al to use this philosophy in an apology for Christianity.]

Published: May 31, 2014

Keywords: Christian Faith; Traditional Religion; Ancient Philosophy; Christian Religion; Skeptical View

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