The pagan philosopher Plutarch writes that, regarding beliefs in God, we should avoid two extremes: atheism and superstition. The former abandons all ideas of God, whereas the latter holds false ideas of a malevolent deity. In Book 3 Chapter 2 of the Institutes, Calvin provides a definition of the Christian faith, which is opposed to both atheism and superstition: Faith is a firm and sure knowledge of the divine favor […]
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The Pursuit of Certainty: From Descartes to Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard evidently read Descartes, because he objected to the latter’s famous argument, “I think, therefore I am”, and the notion that doubt is derived from knowledge. It might appear that the two of them belong to different camps, but I have reason to believe that Descartes influenced/inspired Kierkegaard in his conception of “subjective certainty”. Descartes’ Certainty It was Descartes who first brought “subjective certainty” to the forefront of philosophical thought, […]
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