Dogmatism
Dogmatism
See Commandments, Of Men
Commandments, Of Men
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Dogmatism
(Gr. dogma, opinion) A term used by many and various philosophers to characterize their opponents’ view more or less derogatorily since the word cannot rid itself of certain linguistic and other associations. The Skeptics among Greek philosophers, doubting all, called dogmatism every assertion of a positive nature. More discriminately, dogmatism may be applied to presumptuous statements or such that lack a sufficiently rational ground, while in the popular mind the word still has the affiliation with the rigor of church dogma which, having a certain finality about it, appeals to faith rather than reason. Since Kant, dogmatism has a specific connotation in that it refers to metaphysical statements made without previous analysis of their justification on the basis of the nature and aptitudes of reason, exactly what Kant thought to remedy through his criticism. By this animadversion are scored especially all 17th and 18th century metaphysical systems as well as later ones which cling to a priori principles not rationally founded. Now also applied to principles of a generalized character maintained without regard to empirical conditions. — K.F.L.