What is it about?
Defines and classifies Erasmus' attitudes toward non-Christian peoples and groups. Explores Erasmus’ attitudes toward Turks and Jews synthetically and comparatively. Analyzes Erasmus' attitude toward Amerindians and Black Africans.
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Why is it important?
This book investigates how Erasmus viewed non-Christians and different races, including Muslims, Jews, the indigenous people of the Americas, and Africans. Nathan Ron argues that Erasmus was devoted to Christian Eurocentrism and not as tolerant as he is often portrayed. Erasmus’ thought is situated vis-à-vis the thought of contemporaries such as the cosmographer and humanist Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini who became Pope Pius II; the philosopher, scholar, and Cardinal, Nicholas of Cusa; and the Dominican missionary and famous defender of the Native Americans, Bartolomé Las Casas. Additionally, the relatively moderate attitude toward Islam which was demonstrated by Michael Servetus, Sebastian Franck, and Sebastian Castellio is analyzed in comparison with Erasmus’ harsh attitude toward Islam/Turks.
Perspectives
This book, I dare say, is the first full treatment of Erasmus’ views of the “other.” The book explores how Erasmus viewed non-Christians and different races, including Muslims, Jews, Amerindians and black Africans. It deals also with related issues such as waging a crusade against the Turks, war and peace in general, and the wishful thinking of converting the Turks and the Jews to Christianity.
Dr. Nathan Ron
The University of Haifa
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Erasmus and the “Other”, January 2019, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-24929-8.
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