Empires of belief : why we need more scepticism and doubt in the twenty-first century / Stuart Sim.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sim, Stuart.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Belief and doubt.

Skepticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (217 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Challenges various forms of fundamentalism and unexamined belief systems from a philosophical and sceptical viewpoint. Is unquestioning belief making a global comeback? This book outlines the history of scepticism in both the Western and Islamic cultural traditions, and from the Enlightenment to postmodernism.

Contents:

COVER; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Empires of Belief, Campaigns for Scepticism; 1 Scepticism: A Brief Philosophical History; 2 Enlightenment Scepticism: A Campaign Against Unnecessary Hypotheses; 3 Super-Scepticism: The Postmodern World; 4 Science and Technology as Belief Systems; 5 Towards a Sceptical Politics; 6 Reasonable Doubt?; Conclusion: The Sceptic Fights Back; Notes; Bibliography; Index;

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-280-50163-4

9786610501632

0-7486-2694-8

OCLC:

70783509

Publisher Number:

9780748626946