Skepticism and the New World: The Anthropological Argument and the Emergence of Modernity [Hardcover]

The arrival of Europeans in the New World in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, often neglected by historians of philosophy, is a crucial historical event that transformed modern thought.Skepticism and the New World: The Anthropological Argument and the Emergence of Modernityargues that the encounter between Europeans and the inhabitants of the New World challenges Europeans concept of a universal human nature and leads to new forms of skepticism.

Contrasting a theological and political debate on the rights of indigenous peoples with the rights of conquest and just war of the Spanish, Danilo Marcondes examines their anthropology, exploring how the French saw the indigenous cultures of the New World and how they shaped their epistemology.

Skepticism and the New World: The Anthropological Argument and the Emergence of Modernity shows that the discovery of the New World had a transforming impact as a historical event with deep philosophical repercussions, especially for traditional presuppositions about human nature and knowledge.Danilo Marcondesis tenured assistant professor at the Brazilian War College (Escola Superior de Guerra-ESG) in Rio de Janeiro.

A welcome contribution to the history of ideas,Skepticism and the New Worldtraces how European philosophical and intellectual traditions influenced encounters with and understandings of the peoples, languages, and cultures of the Americas; andcruciallyhow these encounters and understandings would come to influence the development of key ideas in Western philosophy and science. Marcondes careful analysis of texts from diverse linguistic, philosophical, and theological traditions highlights the complexities of these interactions and provides the reader with a wide-ranging overview, underscoring the importance of dialogues between Europe and the New World to our current understanding of humanity and human nature. Catherine Fountain, Appalachian State UniverlC%