This collection of original essays by the nation's leading political theorists examines the origins of modernity and considers the question of tolerance as a product of early modern religious skepticism. Rather than approaching the problem through a purely historical lens, the authors actively demonstrate the significance of these issues to contemporary debates in political philosophy and public policy. The contributors to Early Modern Skepticism raise and address questions of the utmost significance: Is religious faith necessary for ethical behavior? Is skepticism a fruitful ground from which to argue for toleration? This book will be of interest to historians, philosophers, religious scholars, and political theoristsanyone concerned about the tensions between private beliefs and public behavior.
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Levine and his contributors must be congratulated for producing a uniformly learned and elegant set of inquiries into the foundations of early modern toleration. * American Political Science Review * Many excellent American writers have made Montaigne a precursor of modern liberalism. They include . . . Alan Levine (Early Modern Skepticism and the Origins of Toleration). * Times Literary Supplement *
Preface vii Introduction: The Prehistory of Toleration and Varieties of Skepticism 1(20) Alan Levine Through a Glass Darkly: Luther and Calvin and the Limits of Reason 21(30) Joshua Mitchell Skepticism, Self, and Toleration in Montaignes Political Thought 51(26) Alan Levine French Free-Thinkers in the First Decades of the Edict of Nantes 77(26) Maryanne Cline Horowitz Descartes and the Question of Toleration 103(24) Michael Gillepsie Toleration and the Skepticism of Religion in Spinozas Tractatus Theologico-Politicus 127(20) Steven B. Smith Monopolizing Faith: The Levellers, Rights, and Religious Toleration 147(18) Alan Houston Skepticism and Toleration in Hobbes Political Thought 165(14) Shirley Letwin John Locke and the Foundations of Toleration 179(18) Nathan Tarcov Pierre Bayles Atheist Politics 197(28) Kenneth R. Weinstein Of Believers and Barbarians: Montesquieus Enlightened Toleration 225(24) Diana Schaub The Tolerant Skepticism of Voltaire and Diderot: Against Leibnizian Optimism and ``Wise Charity 249(22) Patrick Riley Index 271(10) About the Contributors 281
Alan Levine is Assistant Professor of Government at American University.
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