Obscurantism
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| - | The '''''Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum''''' (i. e. Letters of Obscure Men) was a celebrated collection of [[satire|satirical]] [[Latin]] letters which appeared in the 16th century in [[Germany]]. They support the German [[Humanist]] scholar [[Johann Reuchlin]] and they mock the doctrines and modes of living of the scholastics and monks, mainly by pretending to be letters from fanatic Christian theologians discussing whether all Jewish books should be burned as un-Christian or not. | + | '''Obscurantism''' (from the Latin ''obscurans'', "darkening") is the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known. There are two common senses of this: (1) opposition to the spread of [[knowledge]]—a policy of withholding knowledge from the [[Public|general public]]; and (2) a style (as in literature, art, philosophy, or theology) characterized by deliberate vagueness or abstruseness. In this article, obscurantism in the first and second senses are explained in separate sections, below. |
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| - | == Background == | + | |
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| - | The work was based upon the real-life public dispute between German humanist [[Johann Reuchlin]] and certain [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] monks, especially the formerly Jewish convert [[Johannes Pfefferkorn]] who had obtained Imperial authority from [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] to burn all known copies of the [[Talmud]] in 1509. The title is an obvious reference to Reuchlin's 1511 ''Epistolae clarorum virorum'' ("Letters of famous/bright men") providing a collection of letters on scholarly and intellectual matters from eminent German humanists such as [[Ulrich von Hutten]], [[Johann Crotus]], [[Konrad Mutian]], [[Helius Eobanus Hessus]], and others. The Latin adjective ''obscurus'' ("dark, hidden, obscure") is the opposite of ''clarus'' ("bright, famous, obvious") used in the title of Reuchlin's book. | + | |
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| - | == Structure and presumptive authors == | + | |
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| - | Most of the letters found in ''Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum'' are addressed to [[Ortwin|Hardwin von Grätz]] and contain mock accusations against him, such as allegation that he had been intimate with [[Johannes Pfefferkorn]]'s wife (Letter XII) and that Gratius had defecated his pants in public (letter XL). It was written in large part by the humanists [[Crotus Rubeanus]] a.k.a. Johannes Jäger and [[Ulrich von Hutten]], who contributed mainly to the second volume, although the collection was published anonymously. The work is credited with hastening the [[Protestant Reformation]]. | + | |
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| - | == Bans and papal excommunication == | + | |
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| - | The book was banned in many places, and in regard of the rise of [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Protestant Reformation]], [[Pope Leo X]] excommunicated the authors, readers, and disseminators of the ''Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum'' in 1517, by citing the fact that the discussed matter of burning all Jewish books, especially the Talmud, had never been held as a majority view among Christian scholars. | + | |
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| - | == Legacy == | + | |
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| - | The modern term [[obscurantism]] derives from the title of this work. As the theologians in the book intended to burn "un-Christian" works, [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] philosophers used the term for conservative, especially religious enemies of progressive Enlightenment and its concept of the liberal spread of knowledge. | + | |
| + | The term derives from the title of the 16th-century satire ''[[Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum]]'' ("Letters of Obscure Men") based upon the real-life dispute between German humanist [[Johann Reuchlin]] and [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] monks such as [[Johannes Pfefferkorn]] as to whether all Jewish books should be burned as un-Christian or not. The letters satirized the monks arguments for burning "un-Christian" works, [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] philosophers used the term for conservative, especially religious enemies of progressive Enlightenment and its concept of the liberal spread of knowledge. | ||
| + | [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] distinguishes the obscurantism of [[metaphysics]] and [[theology]] from the "more subtle" obscurantism of [[Kant]]'s [[critical philosophy]] and modern [[philosophical skepticism]], claiming that obscurantism is that which obscures existence: "The essential element in the black art of obscurantism is not that it wants to darken individual understanding but that it wants to blacken our picture of the world, and darken our idea of existence." | ||
| + | == See also == | ||
| + | * [[Anti-intellectualism]] | ||
| + | * [[Cover-up]] | ||
| + | * [[Cult]] | ||
| + | * [[Disinformation]] | ||
| + | * [[Doublespeak]] | ||
| + | * [[Fundamentalism]] | ||
| + | * [[Greenspeak]] | ||
| + | * [[Paternalism]] | ||
| + | * [[Paywall]] | ||
| + | * [[Perception management]] | ||
| + | * [[Philosopher king]] | ||
| + | * [[Politicization of science]] | ||
| + | * [[Pseudophilosophy]] | ||
| + | * [[Pseudointellectual]] | ||
| + | * [[Psychological manipulation]] | ||
| + | * [[Positivism]] | ||
| + | * [[Scientism]] | ||
| + | * [[Whataboutism]] | ||
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Revision as of 20:29, 7 May 2019
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Obscurantism (from the Latin obscurans, "darkening") is the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known. There are two common senses of this: (1) opposition to the spread of knowledge—a policy of withholding knowledge from the general public; and (2) a style (as in literature, art, philosophy, or theology) characterized by deliberate vagueness or abstruseness. In this article, obscurantism in the first and second senses are explained in separate sections, below.
The term derives from the title of the 16th-century satire Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum ("Letters of Obscure Men") based upon the real-life dispute between German humanist Johann Reuchlin and Dominican monks such as Johannes Pfefferkorn as to whether all Jewish books should be burned as un-Christian or not. The letters satirized the monks arguments for burning "un-Christian" works, Enlightenment philosophers used the term for conservative, especially religious enemies of progressive Enlightenment and its concept of the liberal spread of knowledge.
Friedrich Nietzsche distinguishes the obscurantism of metaphysics and theology from the "more subtle" obscurantism of Kant's critical philosophy and modern philosophical skepticism, claiming that obscurantism is that which obscures existence: "The essential element in the black art of obscurantism is not that it wants to darken individual understanding but that it wants to blacken our picture of the world, and darken our idea of existence."
See also
- Anti-intellectualism
- Cover-up
- Cult
- Disinformation
- Doublespeak
- Fundamentalism
- Greenspeak
- Paternalism
- Paywall
- Perception management
- Philosopher king
- Politicization of science
- Pseudophilosophy
- Pseudointellectual
- Psychological manipulation
- Positivism
- Scientism
- Whataboutism
