Storia, scetticismo e sorti della teologia, da Port-Royal a Bayle

Abstract

Discusses how criteria for historical certainty & apologetics merged in response to the issues raised by rational Cartesian epistemology & Pascalian irrationalism. The relations between Pascal's La Logique ou l'art de penser (Logic or the Art of Thought), commentaries by Arnaud & Nicole in La Perpetuite de la foy de l'eglise catholique touchant l'eucharistie deffendue contre le livre du sieur Claude ([The Perpetuity of the Faith of the Catholic Church about the Eucharist, Defended against the Book of Monsieur Claude] 1669), & the work of Claude are developed. Other topics discussed include the doctrine of testimonialism & veridical, fact-based theological arguments. Pierre Bayle asserts that a relative confidence in the verifiability of historical truth should replace the historical Pyrrhonism, but with the understanding that verifiability can only be expressed as a rejection of the testimonials to the truth of faith. J. Sadler