| Abstract |
The aim of this paper is to put together two phenomena deeply rooted in the Baroque: firstly, melancholy, as a state of mind that permeates the entire era, and, secondly, scepticism, as the resulting philosophical view of the metaphysical and theological changes of that moment. To achieve our goal, we will study some of the main analyses of the notion «melancholy», showing its derivations and asserting that it may be considered a key concept to understand some masterpieces of the Spanish Golden Age, such as the Quijote or El Criticón, where the baroque melancholy depends on the existential experience of disabuse. Given a world of mere appearances that has lost its centre, scepticism arises as a philosophical attitude in which the seek of the truth is a non-ending task and, in consequence, sometimes a desperate one. In the writings of the 16th century doctor and philosopher Francisco Sánchez we find the opportunity to see an expression or unique modulation of melancholy through scepticism. © 2022 Instituto de Estudios Auriseculares (IDEA). All rights reserved. |
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