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Humanism and the rhetoric of toleration
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Humanism and the rhetoric of toleration

Author: Gary Remer
Publisher: University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press, ©1996.
Edition/Format:   Book : State or province government publication : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
Religious toleration is much discussed these days. But where did the Western notion of toleration come from?
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Material Type: Government publication, State or province government publication
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Gary Remer
ISBN: 0271014806 9780271014807
OCLC Number: 32131416
Description: x, 318 p. ; 24 cm.
Contents: 1. Erasmus: The Paradigm of Humanist Toleration --
2. Acontius and the Revision of the Humanist Defense --
3. Chillingworth: Humanism in the Seventeenth Century --
4. Hobbes: Humanism Turned Against Itself --
5. Bodin: A Different Kind of Humanist Toleration --
6. Conclusion: The Aftermath of Humanism.
Responsibility: Gary Remer.

Abstract:

Religious toleration is much discussed these days. But where did the Western notion of toleration come from?

Remer 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 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 challenges 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.

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