Probabilism. A Cultural Environment that Led to the Creation of Random Probability

Abstract

Probabilism is a trend in the moral philosophy of Christianity that developed in the 16th century. Within probabilism, “probable” opinions or those issued by an “honest” authority are accepted. This contrasts with probabiliorism, the trend that only accepted the Scriptures and what was said by the elders of the Church. A central feature of probabilism is that certainties are impossible. This moral theory produced a crack in determinism, thereby permitting the development of doubt, uncertainty and moral risk. The central hypothesis of this article is that probabilism gradually created meanings for the moral doubt that arose when Europe had to face the existence of the Other. This happened in the 16th century as a result of European expansion to both the American continent and the Far East. We regard the missions as an ideal place for meeting with the Other. In them, tensions materialized between the center and periphery,discipline and resistance, production and circulation of orthodox and foreign knowledge.