An Archaeology of Disbelief

An Archaeology of Disbelief
Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages : 218
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780761869672
ISBN-13 : 0761869670
Rating : 4/5 (670 Downloads)

Book Synopsis An Archaeology of Disbelief by : Edward Jayne

Download or read book An Archaeology of Disbelief written by Edward Jayne and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-12-22 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Archaeology of Disbelief traces the origin of secular philosophy to pre-Socratic Greek philosophers who proposed a physical universe without supernatural intervention. Some mentioned the Homeric gods, but others did not. Atomists and Sophists identified themselves as agnostics if not outright atheists, and in reaction Plato featured transcendent spiritual authority. However, Aristotle offered a physical cosmology justified by evidence from a variety of scientific fields. He also revisited many pre-Socratic assumptions by proposing that existence consists of mass in motion without temporal or spatial boundaries. In many ways his analysis anticipated Newton’s concept of gravity, Darwin’s concept of evolution, and Einstein’s concept of relativity. Aristotle’s follower Strato invented scientific experimentation. He also inspired the pursuit of science and advocated the rejection of all beliefs unconfirmed by science. Carneades in turn distorted Aristotelian logic to ridicule the god concept, and Lucretius proposed a grand secular cosmology in his epic De Rerum Natura. In the two dialogues, Academica and De Natura Deorum, Cicero provided a useful retrospective assessment of this entire movement. The Roman Empire and advent of Christianity effectively terminated Greek philosophy except for Platonism reinvented as stoicism. Widespread destruction of libraries eliminated most early secular texts, and the Inquisition played a major role in preventing secular inquiry. Aquinas later justified Aristotle in light of Christian doctrine, and secularism’s revival was postponed until the seventeenth century’s paradoxical reaction against his interpretation of Aristotle. Today it nevertheless remains possible to trace western civilization’s remarkable secular achievement to its initial breakthrough in ancient Greece. The purpose of this book is accordingly to trace the origin and development of its secular thought through close examination of texts that still exist today in light of Aristotle’s writings.


An Archaeology of Disbelief Related Books

An Archaeology of Disbelief
Language: en
Pages: 218
Authors: Edward Jayne
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-12-22 - Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

GET EBOOK

An Archaeology of Disbelief traces the origin of secular philosophy to pre-Socratic Greek philosophers who proposed a physical universe without supernatural int
Nero
Language: en
Pages: 469
Authors: J. F. Drinkwater
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-01-03 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

GET EBOOK

Nero was negligent, not tyrannical. This allowed others to rule, remarkably well, in his name until his negligence became insupportable.
The Varieties of Nonreligious Experience
Language: en
Pages: 292
Authors: Jerome P. Baggett
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-07-09 - Publisher: NYU Press

GET EBOOK

A fascinating exploration of the breadth of social, emotional, and spiritual experiences of atheists in America Self-identified atheists make up roughly 5 perce
Atlas
Language: en
Pages: 215
Authors: Kai-cheung Dung
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-07-17 - Publisher: Columbia University Press

GET EBOOK

Set in the long-lost City of Victoria (a fictional world similar to Hong Kong), Atlas is written from the unified perspective of future archaeologists strugglin
America Before
Language: en
Pages: 486
Authors: Graham Hancock
Categories: Body, Mind & Spirit
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-04-23 - Publisher: St. Martin's Press

GET EBOOK

The Instant New York Times Bestseller! Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock, the int