Freethinkers (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Susan Jacoby
- First Published: 2004
- Type of Work: History and religion
- Time of Work: From the late eighteenth century to 2004
- Setting: The United States
- Principal Characters: Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan Anthony, Robert Ingersoll, Clarence Darrow, George E. Macdonald
- Genres: Nonfiction, History, Religion and spirituality
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Philosophy or philosophers, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Religion, Eighteenth century, Government, Secularism, Fanaticism, Fundamentalism, 2000’s
- Locales: United States
In Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, Susan Jacoby uses the term “freethought” to denote a broad range of rationalist beliefs, including dogmatic atheism, moderate humanism, indecisive agnosticism, and even deism—the notion of an aloof deity that does not directly intervene in human affairs. In contrast to the postmodernists, Jacoby unapologetically praises the eighteenth century Enlightenment, the liberal and skeptical intellectual movement that transformed Western civilization. Logically and historically, the concept of freethought is almost inseparable from...
[The entire page is 2080 words long]
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