The History of Scepticism: From Savonarola to Bayle

Rating:
Summary: High Adventure
Review: I read fairly widely (you can check the reviews posted in my "about me" area), and I have never encountered a book of this magnitude. The depth and historical color are extraordinarily rich. This is very much like a window that opens outwards onto a parallel universe. I had no idea such dimensions existed to human experience.

I have only now read up to page 47, and I felt compelled to share my initial impressions of this work with other intelligent readers who are perplexed at the state of human affairs. When you begin to learn the background conditions out of which the present day emerged, things begin to make some sense.

The author has been developing expertise in the subject of scepticism since the early 1950s. This latest edition is the fruit of that extended and meticulously cultivated interest. The fact that his interest has only grown with time is an indication of the affection displayed in his writing. It is obvious that the entire book is a labor of love.

The author states right up front in the preface that his bias is towards a fideistic interpretation of the state of human knowledge. However, I am more than able to appreciate his presentations of historical information without the slightest irritation over this stated bias.

This book is a work of art and is exciting to read.

Rating:
Summary: Just Superb
Review: I read fairly widely (you can check the reviews posted in my "about me" area), and I have never encountered a book of this magnitude. The depth and historical color are extraordinarily rich. This is very much like a window that opens outwards onto a parallel universe. I had no idea such dimensions existed to human experience.

I have only now read up to page 47, and I felt compelled to share my initial impressions of this work with other intelligent readers who are perplexed at the state of human affairs. When you begin to learn the background conditions out of which the present day emerged, things begin to make some sense.

The author has been developing expertise in the subject of scepticism since the early 1950s. This latest edition is the fruit of that extended and meticulously cultivated interest. The fact that his interest has only grown with time is an indication of the affection displayed in his writing. It is obvious that the entire book is a labor of love.

The author states right up front in the preface that his bias is towards a fideistic interpretation of the state of human knowledge. However, I am more than able to appreciate his presentations of historical information without the slightest irritation over this stated bias.

This book is a work of art and is exciting to read.

Rating:
Summary: Just Superb
Review: This little book tells the story of the most important turning point in the history of Western thinking. That it is full of surprises, shows how widely misunderstood is the subject it treats. One of the most important things it demonstrates, without necessarily meaning to, is how radical skepticism has historically been an ally, rather than an enemy, of religion, and an enemy, rather than an ally, of science.

Popkin is the undisputed master of this subject, and this book is filled with summaries and precious exerpts of works no longer accessible to most of us, and is worth buying for that reason alone.