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Bayle and the ‘Virtuous Atheist’

Jonathan I. Israel

in Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750

The most enigmatic and controversial, as well as probably the single most widely read and influential thinker of the Early Enlightenment, was the ‘philosopher of Rotterdam’ — Pierre Bayle ... More

The most enigmatic and controversial, as well as probably the single most widely read and influential thinker of the Early Enlightenment, was the ‘philosopher of Rotterdam’ — Pierre Bayle (1647–1706). Though banned in France and the rest of Catholic Europe, his works were read everywhere and by everyone who claimed any sort of acquaintance with contemporary European intellectual life. Bayle is strictly speaking neither a sceptic nor a ‘fideist’. His position is that philosophical reason is the only tool we have to separate truth from falsehood, the only secure criterion, and that, consequently, by its nature religious faith can never be based on reason.Less

The Monster of Atheism: Its Being and Attributes

Paul Russell

in The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion

The early responses to the Treatise show that the issue of “atheism” was neither peripheral nor irrelevant to the way that Hume's own contemporaries understood his aims and objectives. Most ... More

The early responses to the Treatise show that the issue of “atheism” was neither peripheral nor irrelevant to the way that Hume's own contemporaries understood his aims and objectives. Most contemporary Hume scholars maintain, however, that this label, not only misrepresents Hume's intentions in the Treatise but that it also misrepresents his position on the subject of religion as presented in his later writings (which are understood to be more “directly” or “explicitly” concerned with religion). The immediate aim of this chapter is to develop a clearer understanding of the way that Hume and his contemporaries interpreted “atheism” and the specific doctrines that were associated with it. Once this standard is (back) in place, we will be in a position to determine the extent to which the charge of “atheism” fits the actual content of the Treatise.Less

The Two Tribunals: Pierre Jurieu before the Republic of Letters and the State

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

This chapter opens by documenting the heated theological–political polemic between Bayle and his former friend Pierre Jurieu, which ran directly parallel to the genesis of the Dictionnaire in the ... More

This chapter opens by documenting the heated theological–political polemic between Bayle and his former friend Pierre Jurieu, which ran directly parallel to the genesis of the Dictionnaire in the 1690s. It demonstrates the various ways in which Bayle uses Jurieu, throughout the Dictionnaire, as a dialectical tool for reflecting on the ethics of scholarly debate and the limits of free speech in the Republic of Letters, which, ideally, should be a sphere completely independent from the political state. It traces the evolution of Bayle’s thought on calumny and (self-)censorship and shows how Bayle engages with such questions throughout the Dictionnaire, by studying and commenting on actual scholarly debates in the real Republic of Letters, and how he tries to save the Republic’s ideal self-regulating liberty from calumniators such as Jurieu.Less

Round Two: Evil, Silence, and Apology in the Second Edition (1702)

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

This chapter analyses the second edition of the Dictionnaire, published in 1702. After the first edition had been censured by the Church authorities for its heretical and obscene passages, Bayle ... More

This chapter analyses the second edition of the Dictionnaire, published in 1702. After the first edition had been censured by the Church authorities for its heretical and obscene passages, Bayle promised to amend and clarify the offending articles. However, Bayle hardly retracted any of his previous statements in the second edition: rather, he repeated and expanded them, and his ‘Clarifications’ only complicated matters further. Furthermore, the second edition contains a multilayered reflection on the nature of second editions in general, and how they should be read differently from first editions—for in second editions authors can repair their reputations by adjusting or removing any statements deemed heterodox by the censor. This chapter exposes the complex character of Bayle’s second edition and the important role played by Jurieu in the structure of Bayle’s apologetics. It argues that comparing different editions is a crucial part of reading the Dictionnaire.Less

Of War and Peace: An Anatomy of Fanaticism and Intolerance

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

This chapter investigates Bayle’s critical engagement with Jurieu in the context of the intersecting themes of religious fanaticism and intolerance. The Dutch Refuge of the 1690s was marked by a ... More

This chapter investigates Bayle’s critical engagement with Jurieu in the context of the intersecting themes of religious fanaticism and intolerance. The Dutch Refuge of the 1690s was marked by a political division between those (like Bayle) who believed the Huguenots should remain obedient to Louis XIV, and those (like Jurieu) who defended the option of rebelling against the French king and supporting the Protestant princes of Europe in making war against Catholic France. Bayle’s concern over Jurieu’s political attitudes left a profound mark on various articles in the Dictionnaire, which analyse how fanaticism is related to religious violence and intolerance, and discuss the practical problem of how fanatics can be distinguished from religious impostors. The chapter also shows the important role played by Bayle’s Erasmian pacifism in both his political theory and philosophy of toleration.Less

Pierre Bayle and Biblical Criticism

Jean Bernier

in Scriptural Authority and Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age: God's Word Questioned

The Huguenot refugee Pierre Bayle (1647–1706) quickly gained fame in the Republic of Letters as an omnivorous reader and prolific writer. He also touched upon the interpretation of biblical texts, ... More

The Huguenot refugee Pierre Bayle (1647–1706) quickly gained fame in the Republic of Letters as an omnivorous reader and prolific writer. He also touched upon the interpretation of biblical texts, but his interest in the subject developed only gradually. This chapter distinguishes four periods. In the first stage, Bayle studied the Bible thoroughly, but without any knowledge of biblical criticism. Nonetheless he thought that ‘a clever man’ could profit from it in order to arrive at a better understanding of the Bible. In his second phase, a genuine interest in biblical criticism was fuelled by Richard Simon’s attacks on the reliability of the text. In the third phase, Bayle ventured to acclaim Simon’s highly controversial works for their precise and balanced judgements on many delicate religious issues. Finally, in the Dictionaire historique et critique Bayle engaged in the practice of biblical criticism himself.Less

Bayle’s Labyrinth: The Genesis, Style, and Structure of the Dictionnaire (1689–96)

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

This chapter demonstrates how the interplay of argument, style, and structure functions in the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique, and argues that any interpretation of the work must be grounded in ... More

This chapter demonstrates how the interplay of argument, style, and structure functions in the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique, and argues that any interpretation of the work must be grounded in an understanding of its textual mechanics as well as of its historical-political context. The chapter begins by discussing the genesis of the Dictionnaire, from its original conception as a ‘dictionary of errors’ in 1689 to the first edition in 1696. This is followed by an exposition of the structural division of Bayle’s text into three segments: the main article, the Remarks, and the marginal notes. It then explores Bayle’s use of cross-references to continue philosophical discussions through different contexts and editions, as well as his introduction of historical-fictional characters to voice the most radical and heretical arguments in the Dictionnaire. Finally, it discusses how the presence of these ‘voices of Bayle’ complicates the hermeneutical debate.Less

Martin Clifford and his Treatise of humane reason (1674): A Europe-wide debate

Giovanni Tarantino

in Philosophy and Religion in Enlightenment Britain: New Case Studies

In 1674, Martin Clifford, a secretly atheist headmaster entrusted with the task of moulding the future governing class among young men in London, anonymously published a treatise calling for a ... More

In 1674, Martin Clifford, a secretly atheist headmaster entrusted with the task of moulding the future governing class among young men in London, anonymously published a treatise calling for a critical confutation of constituted authority, faith in one’s own rational convictions, and tolerance towards other people’s opinions and beliefs. Clifford’s book circulated widely in erudite circles in Europe, in the form of a French translation by the Unitarian William Popple, adding fresh impetus to the long-running debate on toleration between Jurieu, Saurin, and Bayle. Clifford’s (and Locke’s) translator, Popple, had direct experience of what it was like to be a member of a minority both in post-Revocation France — he was a Protestant exile there — and in England, as a Unitarian rationalist excluded from the benefits of the Toleration Act. Jurieu claimed that Bayle drew on the ‘libertine theology’ expressed in the Traité de la raison humaine, the watered-down French version of the Treatise.Less

Remedial Education in Professor Bayle's History Class

in Playing the Fool: Subversive Laughter in Troubled Times

Pierre Bayle has entertained readers with his fireworks, his deflation of pretensions, his frequent off-color insinuations, and his bravura performances. These features made Bayle's Historical and ... More

Pierre Bayle has entertained readers with his fireworks, his deflation of pretensions, his frequent off-color insinuations, and his bravura performances. These features made Bayle's Historical and Critical Dictionary an internationally acclaimed work until the eighteenth century. A master of erudition as well as artful presentation and manipulation, Bayle wrote and argued in a manner that would draw some at least to ponder what he might really think. This was a point recognized by competent readers of the past, including Denis Diderot, Doris Lessing, and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. One of the Dictionary's major aims is to detect and correct others' errors, and Bayle shows in detail the faithlessness of others. He offers Suetonius's history as a model to emulate. He finds much to admire, and at the same time much to deplore, in the works of the ancient historians.Less

How the Stoics Became Atheists

Christopher Brooke

in Philosophic Pride: Stoicism and Political Thought from Lipsius to Rousseau

This chapter explores the wider and largely Continental story of how the Stoics became atheists. The Neostoicisms of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century had been explicitly intended as ... More

This chapter explores the wider and largely Continental story of how the Stoics became atheists. The Neostoicisms of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century had been explicitly intended as supplements to mainstream varieties of Christianity. Indeed, even Lipsius remained consistent with his argument that Stoicism, with respect to both its ethics and its physics, provided an appropriate philosophical framework for a well-lived Christian life. Though a number of factors during the seventeenth century had contributed to the Stoics' atheistic turn, as this chapter shows, this shift within Stoicism is credited to Benedict Spinoza and his detailed examinations on the nature of God.Less

The Origins of Evil (1686–96): Bayle and Jurieu on Faith and Reason

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

This chapter examines Bayle’s curious espousal of Jurieu’s theology in various articles of the Dictionnaire. Jurieu had published various theological works in which he argued that religious belief ... More

This chapter examines Bayle’s curious espousal of Jurieu’s theology in various articles of the Dictionnaire. Jurieu had published various theological works in which he argued that religious belief must be based on the blind submission of reason to faith. Although Bayle’s early writings resist any such irrationalist theology, this changes in the Dictionnaire, where, in the context of the problem of evil, Bayle draws from Jurieu theological works to argue that this problem is rationally insoluble. Bayle’s stance on the conflict between faith and reason now mirrors that of Jurieu, which is precisely the kind of religious irrationalism he attacked in his earlier works. At the same time, Bayle appears to be complicating Jurieu’s position by radicalizing it. This chapter traces this thread of changing and possibly contradictory engagements with Jurieu, and shows the crucial role played by Jurieu’s theological works in the first edition of the Dictionnaire.Less

The Practical Pyrrhonist

Paul Russell

in The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion

This chapter provides a general interpretation of the irreligious character of Hume's sceptical intentions in the Treatise. Although the Treatise remains the primary concern, the discussion also ... More

This chapter provides a general interpretation of the irreligious character of Hume's sceptical intentions in the Treatise. Although the Treatise remains the primary concern, the discussion also covers Hume's later philosophical works. Hume's basic aim is to reveal the “weakness and uncertainty of mere human reason" so that he can show that all speculations that reach beyond “the common affairs of life"—specifically, those that are encouraged by “superstition"—should be abandoned. This is the principal lesson of the Conclusion of Book I (T, 1.4.7). This general account of Hume's skeptical commitments serves as the foundation for a solution to the problem of the “riddle” of the Treatise. Less

Morality without Religion

Paul Russell

in The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion

According to the irreligious interpretation, there are two key claims that Hume seeks to establish in the Treatise in respect of morality. The first is that Hume defends the “autonomy of morality” in ... More

According to the irreligious interpretation, there are two key claims that Hume seeks to establish in the Treatise in respect of morality. The first is that Hume defends the “autonomy of morality” in relation to religion. The foundations of moral and political life, he holds, rest with our human nature, not with the doctrines and dogmas of (Christian) religion. Closely connected with this issue, Hume also aims to show that “speculative atheism” does not imply “practical atheism” or any kind of “moral licentiousness.” Taken together, these two components of Hume's moral system constitute a defence and interpretation of “virtuous atheism.”Less

Introduction: The Dictionnaire and the Twice-entombed

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

The Introduction briefly introduces the historiographical debate on interpreting Bayle, and proposes to establish a new way of reading the Dictionnaire, under a dual premise: first, that the work can ... More

The Introduction briefly introduces the historiographical debate on interpreting Bayle, and proposes to establish a new way of reading the Dictionnaire, under a dual premise: first, that the work can only be rightly understood when placed within the immediate context of its production in the 1690s; second, that it is only through an appreciation of the mechanics of the work as a whole, and of the role played by its structural and stylistic particularities, that we can attain an appropriate interpretation of its parts. It also sketches the relevance of this debate for three wider historical themes: the Republic of Letters, the origins of the Enlightenment, and the history of the Dutch Refuge.Less

Conclusion: The Dictionnaire and the Impossibility of Silence

Mara van der Lugt

in Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique

The Conclusion briefly discusses Bayle’s writings after the Dictionnaire, in which Bayle repeatedly yet problematically associates his own theological stance with that of Jurieu. It argues that the ... More

The Conclusion briefly discusses Bayle’s writings after the Dictionnaire, in which Bayle repeatedly yet problematically associates his own theological stance with that of Jurieu. It argues that the fundamental problem of Bayle’s engagement with Jurieu in the Dictionnaire is the association, through Jurieu, between fideism and fanaticism: between the Jurieuïte irrationalist foundations for faith and the dangerous tendency of people like Jurieu to become fanatical and intolerant. Without definitively concluding that Bayle is in bad faith in the Dictionnaire, the Conclusion explores the option that there is an element of revenge as well as self-defence in Bayle’s espousal of Jurieu’s theology, which sits oddly with his consistent antagonism in all other respects. However, it also argues that the question of Bayle’s intentions in the Dictionnaire is best left open: that this is the best way to do justice to his arguments, voices, and ambiguities.Less

The French Reception of Thomas Hobbes

Robin Douglass

in Rousseau and Hobbes: Nature, Free Will, and the Passions

This chapter sets out the intellectual context for Rousseau’s engagement with Hobbes by surveying Hobbes’s French reception during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The chapter ... More

This chapter sets out the intellectual context for Rousseau’s engagement with Hobbes by surveying Hobbes’s French reception during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The chapter first examines how Pierre Nicole and Pierre Bayle drew on Hobbes’s political ideas in their own theories, before assessing the metaphysical and theological elements of Nicholas Malebranche’s critique of Hobbes. It then turns to the natural law context and shows how Jean Barbeyrac and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui helped to establish a somewhat artificial opposition between Hobbesian Epicureanism and Pufendorfian sociability. The final sections consider how Hobbes’s ideas were attacked by Montesquieu, Denis Diderot, and contributors to the Encyclopédie. The chapter reveals that attacks on Hobbes increased as the eighteenth century progressed, even though many of his ideas appear to have diffused into the thought of the time.Less

In Search of a Father: Voltaire’s Christian Enlightenment

Dominic Erdozain

in The Soul of Doubt: The Religious Roots of Unbelief from Luther to Marx

This chapter argues that the Enlightenment critique of Christianity was not the product of Newtonian science or Cartesian rationalism but of a dynamic account of conscience, developed by thinkers ... More

This chapter argues that the Enlightenment critique of Christianity was not the product of Newtonian science or Cartesian rationalism but of a dynamic account of conscience, developed by thinkers such as Pierre Bayle and extolled pre-eminently by Voltaire. In contrast to the rigorous intellectualism of seventeenth-century figures like Descartes and Spinoza, the philosophical mood of the period was rugged and practical, though no less ethically charged. The chapter shows how a spiritual mode of criticism passed from Bayle to Voltaire, stimulated by Catholic and radical Protestant theologies of conscience, and defined against the hyper-Augustinian theology of Jansenism. It also shows how Voltaire supplemented his doctrine of conscience with a powerful vision of God-as-Father and religion-as-mercy. For Voltaire, “Enlightenment” remained a religious concept, demanding change and transformation, and defined against both a persecuting orthodoxy and what he considered the new menace of atheism.Less