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Blind Certitude Salem Witch Trials

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Blind Certitude: The Calamitous Repercussions of Lacking Skepticism Hysteria and intolerance have existed since the beginning of modern civilization. The Salem Witch Trials thoroughly exemplify an instance in which intolerance led to hysteria. In March 1692, Samuel Parris took his 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams, and 9-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Parris, to the doctor because they began acting strangely. According to Samuel, Abigail and Elizabeth screamed, threw objects, made peculiar noises, and contorted themselves into abnormal positions. Unable to find a diagnosis, the doctor blamed the two girls’ actions on bewitchment. The doctor surmised that the Parris family’s indentured servant, Tituba, performed witchcraft on the girls. After …show more content…

Extremist religious beliefs of the supernatural and religious intolerance in Salem acted as a catalyst of the Salem Witch Trials. In England, talks of moving to America for religious freedom disseminated rapidly due to British stigma against puritanism. Puritans came to America and began practicing puritanism freely. Even for this time, Puritans practiced their beliefs orthodoxly. Puritans believed that solely God’s grace allowed them into heaven, and that they had almost no way of interfering with their own salvation. Puritans believed in evil supernatural beings like witches, werewolves, and the devil. Their beliefs of these supernatural presences led them to accuse women of witchcraft because they believed the devil possessed women and made them his servants. Ultimately, they put these women on trial, thus starting the Salem Witch Trials. Additionally, their spiritual intolerance manifested in their disdain for Native

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