180456 SE Devastating Tropes and Deceiving Senses - Scepticism in the Early Modern Period (2008S)

The course seeks to provide a comprehensible exposition of philosophical Scepticism in European Renaissance thought. The seminar will give a concise introduction to the philosophical positions of Sextus Empiricus, who wrote the most systematic treatment of ancient scepticism. We will then read and discuss selected passages from the followers of Sextus in the Sixteenth Century, such as Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola, Francisco Sanchez and Michel de Montaigne. In the seminar we will also look at the socio-political and intellectual environment and outline pre-modern conceptualisations of new epistemologies; thereby, the course envisions a critical re-examination of the traditional canon in the history of philosophy. The focus on the changing intellectual culture of Early Modern Europe will also touch the conditions of research.

Didaktik
The seminar will be held in English, accompanied by reading material from selected relevant primary sources and secondary literature at the student's disposal in the library. General introductions to the historical and intellectual backgrounds of the texts under consideration will go along with close readings of selected passages from Bacon's works.