From the Latin word for darkening—obscurans—comes obscurantism, referring to the practice of deliberately withholding information. This may be done either by concealing facts or—in literature and art—by using an intentionally vague style. The term derives from a 16th-century satire about the dispute between Jew-turned-Dominican friar Johannes Pfefferkorn, who sought to destroy all Jewish texts, and his humanist opponent Johann Reuchlin. Who gave Pfefferkorn permission to burn the works? More…

Categories: Articole de interes general