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Doubt: A History

Jennifer Michael Hecht

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What Members Thought

Apr 27, 2015 Paul Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: female-author, atheism, non-fiction, history, religion, read-in-2016, philosophy

Hecht's examination of how doubt has always lived alongside faith since the earliest times is a fascinating work of scholarship. She takes us from the beginnings of philosophy which grew alongside the earliest recorded organised religions, where the act of questioning and doubting was fundamental to the process of philosophy. This unfaith runs like a bright silver thread through history, although many times religion has sought to obscure the fact and expunge it from the records, or recast the pr ...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Gofita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, favorite, 2012-read, philosophy, 2012-favorites, kindle

Jennifer Hecht provides a pretty thorough history of doubt. Who are the doubters, the questioners, the ones who were curious, the ones who rebelled and stood out from the crowd? We get it all in her delightful and informative narrative. I can't praise this book enough! ...more

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Mar 11, 2014 Christopher Sisk rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy, non-fiction, religion

One of my favorite books on my physical bookshelf. An excellent primer into the history and ideas of skeptical thinking and a fantastic reference. Hecht gives an exhaustive but easily understandable introduction and history of skeptical thinking through cultural, philosophical, and religious thought. An excellent addition to Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World as a Skeptic's handbook/bible and one of my most recommended books to friends and family. ...more

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