The Social Preconditions of Radical Scepticism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3343787 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mary Douglas (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1984 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1_suppl |
| Pages | 68-87 |
| Publication date | 1984-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Sociological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-954x.1984.tb00107.x |
| OpenAlex | W1962147586 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 10 |
Starting with Pascal's arguments against scepticism, this essay seeks to locate within the social structure the niche in which radical scepticism tends to flourish. The Brahminical sceptical tradition is compared with western idealist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and with sceptical trends of today. A social position that combines considerable privilege with lack of influence in an arbitrarily powerful political system gives rise to moral contradictions and insoluble problems. In such a position a denial of the reality of the world indicates a level of thought in which intellectual coherence may be possible. The converse situation, where claiming authority and holding power seem feasible, is more compatible with affirmation of reality than with its negation
Converse · Denial · Epistemology · Negation · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Skepticism · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,17 |
| Citation span | 1991 - 2009 (19) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |