Syncretism

Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. It is especially associated with the attempt to merge and analogize several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, and thus assert an underlying unity.

Syncretism in the Enlightenment

The modern, rational non-pejorative connotations began with Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie articles, Eclecticisme and Syncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs. Diderot portrayed syncretism as the concordance of eclectic sources.

Related Topics:
Denis Diderot - Encyclopédie

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