Books about Scepticism from Amazon.com

Charles Brittain's elegant new translation of Cicero's Academica makes available for the first time a readable and accurate translation into modern English of this complex yet crucial source of our knowledge of the epistemological debates between the sceptical Academics and the Stoics.

Brittain's masterly Introduction, generous notes, English-Latin-Greek Glossary, and Index further commend this edition to the attention of students of Hellenistic philosophy at all levels..
Price: $11.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is the third edition of a classic book first published in 1960, which has sold thousands of copies in two paperback edition and has been translated into several foreign languages. Popkin's work has generated innumerable citations, and remains a valuable stimulus to current historical research. In this updated version, he has revised and expanded throughout, and has added three new chapters, one on Savonarola, one on Henry More and Ralph Cudworth, and one on Pascal. This authoritative treatment of the theme of scepticism and its historical impact will appeal to scholars and students of early modern history now as much as ever..
Price: $18.80 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Outlines of Scepticism, by the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, is a work of major importance for the history of Greek philosophy It is the fullest extant account of ancient skepticism, and it is also one of our most copious sources of information about the other Hellenistic philosophies. Its argumentative approach revolutionized the study of philosophy when Sextus' works were rediscovered in the sixteenth century. This volume presents the accurate and readable translation that was first published in 1994, together with a substantial new historical and philosophical introduction by Jonathan Barnes..
Price: $21.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

1923. From the Preface: Here is one more system of philosophy If the reader is tempted to smile, I can assure him that I smile with him, and that my system-to which this volume is a critical introduction-differs widely in spirit and pretensions from what usually goes by that name. In the first place, my system is not mine, nor new. I am merely attempting to express for the reader the principles to which he appeals when he smiles. There are convictions in the depths of his soul, beneath all his overt parrot beliefs, on which I would build our friendship. I have a great respect for orthodoxy; not for those orthodoxies which prevail in particular schools or nations, and which vary from age to age, but for a certain shrewd orthodoxy which the sentiment and practice of laymen maintain everywhere. I think that common sense, in a rough dogged way, is technically sounder than the special schools of philosophy, each of which squints and overlooks half the facts and half the difficulties in its eagerness to find in some detail the key to the whole. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing..
Price: $19.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Scepticism as a philosophical term is as old as the Greeks but has more recently been advanced by Montaigne, Descartes and Hume. To these, what little we know that seems certain is based on observation and habit as opposed to any logical or scientific necessity. Thus, sceptical views relate directly to epistemology--the theory of knowledge and what we can know--and, in the modern turbulent world, it is Grayling's contention that these are issues that all contemporary people need to focus on.

In seeking understanding of the human condition we need more than just a set of beliefs about it: all belief is irrational. We want to know or garner some kind of proof about the fundamental truths of human existence. This is the crux of the dilemma facing intelligent people today and is illuminated by this book..
Price: $16.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Written specifically with beginning undergraduates with little or no previous knowledge of the subject in mind, this is a distinctive and thoughtful introduction to the main problems of philosophy structured around a philosophical argument which is clearly and carefully developed throughout the book..
Price: $28.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In this carefully reasoned work, discovered after Michael Oakeshott's death in 1990 and here published for the first time, the preeminent political philosopher describes the fundamental dichotomy that has divided discussion of the role of government in Europe since the Renaissance. Oakeshott exposes the weaknesses of each opposing position and proposes a middle ground, incorporating some scepticism and some faith. "By general consensus, Oakeshott is the most striking and original British political thinker of the century. . . . Anyone interested in the nature of politics and government will find this book of interest, and many will want to direct their senior students to it as an accessible introduction to Oakeshott's thought."-William Christian, University of Guelph, Perspectives on Political Science "The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism is concerned to trace the deepest and most permanent features of the modern European political landscape over the last five hundred years, and this it does in an original, insightful, and frequently eloquent manner. We are fortunate that the book has finally seen the light of day."-Paul Franco, Bowdoin College, Political Theory "We are grateful to the editor Tim Fuller for making available this little gem that combines philosophical insight and historical investigation in the exposure of the two 'styles' of modern European politics, without the elaborate prose to which Oakeshott has accustomed his readers: the absence of the typical flamboyant style that characterizes Oakeshott's published works, enables us to grasp his line of thought in the making and renders his arguments crystal clear. . . . A sublime mememto."-Giovanni Giorgini, Political Studies.
Price: $22.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Modes of Scepticism is one of the most important and influential of all ancient philosophical texts. The texts made an enormous impact on Western thought when they were rediscovered in the 16th century and they have shaped the whole future course of Western philosophy. Despite their importance, the Modes have been little discussed in recent times. This book translates the texts and supplies them with a discursive commentary, concentrating on philosophical issues but also including historical material. The book will be of interest to professional scholars and philosophers but its clear and non-technical style makes it intelligible to beginners and the interested layman..
Price: $10.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]