This paper proposes the hypothesis that the investigation into knowledge performed in De vanitate is just one event in a broader philosophical, moral and religious meditation on the crisis of contemporary society, which Agrippa had been engaged in from his first works and which still remains central to his thought after the publication of the ‘sceptical’ declamation. Fundamentally, the reflection on the basis and value of human knowledge which is formulated in De vanitate does not conclude with the acceptance of the impossibility of reforming the system of knowledge, but rather with a proposal for a serious project of cultural reform. In this perspective, the recourse to scepticism assumes a paidetic function: it becomes a critical tool for attacking and refuting Aristotelian philosophy. Agrippa does not intend to pronounce a vote of no confidence on science in general, but rather to pass judgement on the state, methods and practitioners of the philosophical school which dominated at that time.

Tutius ignorare quam scire. Cornelius Agrippa and Scepticism / V. Perrone Compagni. - STAMPA. - (2009), pp. 91-110.

Tutius ignorare quam scire. Cornelius Agrippa and Scepticism

PERRONE COMPAGNI, VITTORIA
2009

Abstract

This paper proposes the hypothesis that the investigation into knowledge performed in De vanitate is just one event in a broader philosophical, moral and religious meditation on the crisis of contemporary society, which Agrippa had been engaged in from his first works and which still remains central to his thought after the publication of the ‘sceptical’ declamation. Fundamentally, the reflection on the basis and value of human knowledge which is formulated in De vanitate does not conclude with the acceptance of the impossibility of reforming the system of knowledge, but rather with a proposal for a serious project of cultural reform. In this perspective, the recourse to scepticism assumes a paidetic function: it becomes a critical tool for attacking and refuting Aristotelian philosophy. Agrippa does not intend to pronounce a vote of no confidence on science in general, but rather to pass judgement on the state, methods and practitioners of the philosophical school which dominated at that time.
2009
9781402085178
Renaissance Scepticisms
91
110
V. Perrone Compagni
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/326537
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