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Augustine's Attack on Skepticism: The Contra Academicos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

John Heil
Affiliation:
Randolph-Macon Woman's College Lynchburg, Va. 24504

Extract

Augustine's attack on skepticism in the Contra Academicos is, it seems to me, both interesting and important. Its interest lies in the fact that the argument developed by Augustine is rather more sophisticated than most commentators seem willing to admit. It is important because it places the moral and epistemological features of skepticism in a new and revealing light, and in so doing offers, I think, a plausible refutation of skeptical doctrine. If I am correct, then the study of Augustine's reasoning is of more than purely historical interest: it is worth studying for its own timeless philosophical content.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1972

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