This book is the first systematic account of Pierre Charron¿s influence among the major French
philosophers in the period (1601-1662). It shows that Charron¿s Wisdom was one of the main
sources of inspiration of Pierre Gassendi¿s first published book the Exercitationes adversus
aristoteleos. It sheds new light on La Mothe Le Vayer who is usually viewed as a major free
thinker. By showing that he was a follower of Charron La Mothe emerges neither as a skeptical
apologist nor as a disguised libertine as combatting superstition but not as irreligious. The
book shows the close presence of Charron in the preambles of Descartes¿ philosophy and that the
cogito is mainly based on the moral Academic self-assurance of Charron¿s wise man. This
interpretation reverses the standard view of Descartes¿ relation to skepticism. Once this
skepticism is recognized to be Charron¿s Academic one it is seen not as the target but as the
source of the cogito. Pascal is the last major philosopher for whom Charron¿s wisdom is
crucially relevant. Montaigne and Descartes influenced respectively Pascal¿s view of the
Pyrrhonian skeptic and of the skeptical main arguments. The book shows that Charron¿s Academic
skeptical wise man is one of the main targets of his projected apology for Christianity since
he considered him as a threat and counter-example of the kind of Christian view of human beings
he believed. By restoring the historical philosophical relevance of Charron in early modern
philosophy and arguing for the relevance of Academic skepticism in the period this book opens
a new research program to early modern scholars and will be valuable for those interested in
the history of philosophy French literature and religion.
