Abstract
In much academic writing there is un unhappy tendency to distinguish between philosophy and the history of ideas: philosophers deal with concepts and arguments, whilst historians deal with the circumstances which surrounded the formulation of those arguments; philosophy deals with eternal and unchanging truth (or falsity), whilst history concentrates on the contingency of events. It is as if we have a stark choice between understanding the Ii fe and times of the great dead philosophers and understanding their philosophical theories. John Kilcullen's recent book is a welcome antidote to this approach.1 Sinceri ty and Truth: Essays on Arnauld, Rayle, and Toleration consists of four essays plus a Conclusion. All the essays arise in one way or another from reflection on Pierre Bayle's Philosophical Commentary on the Words of the Gospel 'Compel them to Come in', and Kilcullen tells us:
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
