"Syntagma Philosophicum" by Pierre Gassendi,''Constructive Skepticism''

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(Gassendi was one of the foremost philosophers and scientists of the early 17th century.
He was the most important rival and critic of Descartes,
he had a crucial role in the revival of the ideas of the ancient Greek skeptics and atomists,
-as Sextus Empiricus /third century-,and of the French essayist Michel de Montaigne,
finally he adopted more and more of a materialistic explanation of the world based on the ancient theory of Epicurus.)
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Between skepticism and dogmatism there is a third possibility :
CONSTRUCTIVE SKEPTICISM,
the theory that although certain knowledge of nature is not possible,
a useful but limited type of knowledge is within our grasp.
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By cautious evaluation of our sense experience we can reach conclusions which can be tested by future experience.
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Epicurus was correct in maintaining that
the universe is composed of atoms moving in empty space ;
atoms are solid,with figure,weight,and extension ;
changes in nature are the result of collisions of the downward coursing atoms.
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The primary cause of atomic motion is God ;
he is the great designer of the universe.
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Unlike the animal soul,which is wholly corporeal,
the human soul is only partly corporeal or material ;
the rational part of the soul is immaterial,derived from God,and immortal.
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Our ideas are not innate,
but some either from the senses or from intellectual activity.
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