Humanism and the Rhetoric of Toleration

Remer, Gary

ISBN 10: 0271014806 / ISBN 13: 9780271014807

Published by Penn State University Press, 1996

About this Item

Zustandsbeschreibung: textsauberes Exemplar mit leichten Gebrauchsspuren, berieben, Klebung scheint am Einbandspiegel des Rückendeckels durch/clean text pages, minor traces of use, rubbed, glue shines through on the cover mirror of the back cover. Remer begins by focusing on the works of four humanists: Desiderius Erasmus, Jacobus Acontius, William Chillingworth, and Jean Bodin. Then he considers the challenge posed to the humanist defense of toleration by Thomas Hobbes and Pierre Bayle. Finally, he shows how humanist ideas have continued to influence arguments for toleration even after the passing of humanism-from John Locke to contemporary American discussions of freedom of speech. X,318 Seiten, gebunden (Pennsylvania State University Press 1996). Früher EUR 115,75. Gewicht: 592 g - Gebunden/Gebundene Ausgabe.

Seller Inventory # 402108

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Humanism and the Rhetoric of Toleration
• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0271014806
• ISBN 13: 9780271014807
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Sehr Gut
• Weight: 592 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Philosophie: Epocheübergreifende Untersuchungen
  • Philosophie des 15./16. Jahrhunderts

About this title

Synopsis

Religious toleration is much discussed these days. But where did the Western notion of toleration come from? In this thought-provoking book Gary Remer traces arguments for religious toleration back to the Renaissance, demonstrating how humanist thinkers initiated an intellectual tradition that has persisted even to our present day. Although toleration has long been recognized as an important theme in Renaissance humanist thinking, many scholars have mistakenly portrayed the humanists as proto-Englightenment rationalists and nascent liberals.

Remer, however, offers the surprising conclusion that humanist thinking on toleration was actually founded on the classical tradition of rhetoric. It was the rhetorician's commitment to decorum, the ability to argue both sides of an issue, and the search for an acceptable epistemological standard in probability and consensus that grounded humanist arguments for toleration. Remer also finds that the primary humanist model for a full-fledged theory of toleration was the Ciceronian rhetorical category of sermo (conversation).

The historical scope of this book is wide-ranging. Remer begins by focusing on the works of four humanists: Desiderius Erasmus, Jacobus Acontius, William Chillingworth, and Jean Bodin. Then he considers the challenge posed to the humanist defense of toleration by Thomas Hobbes and Pierre Bayle. Finally, he shows how humanist ideas have continued to influence arguments for toleration even after the passing of humanism―from John Locke to contemporary American discussions of freedom of speech.

About the Author

Gary Remer is Associate Professor of Political Science at Tulane University.