Empires of Belief
Author | : Stuart Sim |
Publisher | : Edinburgh University Press |
Total Pages | : 217 |
Release | : 2006-06-26 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780748626946 |
ISBN-13 | : 0748626948 |
Rating | : 4/5 (46 Downloads) |
Download or read book Empires of Belief written by Stuart Sim and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2006-06-26 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges all forms of fundamentalism and unexamined belief systems from a philosophical and sceptical viewpoint. Is unquestioning belief making a global comeback? The growth of religious fundamentalism seems to suggest so. For the sceptically minded, this is a deeply worrying trend, not just confined to religion. Political, economic, and scientific theories can demand the same unquestioning obedience from the general public. Stuart Sim outlines the history of scepticism in both the Western and Islamic cultural traditions, and from the Enlightenment to postmodernism. Setting out what a sceptical politics might be like, Empires of Belief argues that we need less belief and more doubt: an engaged scepticism to replace the pervasive dogmatism that threatens our democracies.