Skepticism

While the scope of this paper is not wide enough to expound on all the subcategories under the term, skepticism will be defined as it pertains to being a philosophical attitude, method and a conclusion drawing upon examples from the philosophers I have studied thus far have provided for us. Philosophical skepticism is a critical attitude which system-atically questions the notion that absolute knowledge and certainty are possible, either in general or in particular fields. It is opposed to philosophical dogmatism which maintains that a certain set of positive statements are authoritative, absolutely certain and true (Popkin, R.H., 2003).

Since we began this course studying skepticism as a method and an attitude, I do be-lieve this the best place to begin with these aspects. Philosophers subscribing to empirical skepticism refuse to accept certain kinds of claims without subjecting them to invest-igation. These skeptics display an attitude that holds to claims that are in their view and likely to be true based on testable hypotheses and critical thinking. Hobbes and Berkeley would be examples of empirical metaphysical skeptics concerning materialism and idealism and the one refuting the other respectively.

Skepticism as a method can be defined as the search for conceptual clarification by employing cross examination to examine one’s cognitive processes. From our text reading, Socrates believed that philosophy is a journey so wisdom begins with a re-cognition of ignorance. He did not want to assume on the basis of faith which would be practicing philosophical dogmatism (Runes, D.D., 1962). Socrates was in the habit of drawing forth the opinions of those with whom he was arguing in order to find truth. His attitude and method enabled him to act in accordance with reason.

Another champion of reason, Renee Descartes also utilized skepticism as both an attitude and a method. His goal was to take all his formal education and discard it. He saw too many contradictions and was unsure about all of it. Descartes saw that he needed to use doubt to eradicate doubt. He incorporated hyperbolic doubt which took all his doubting to its extreme in order to find an indubitandem, something which can’t be doubted. His idea was to deconstruct everything in order to lay a cognitive foundation based on certitude. Moreover, he didn’t believe that skepticism was a conclusion.

Concerning skepticism as a conclusion there are two categories. Global or universal skepticism is the view that we can’t know anything. Local or limited skepticism is the view that we can’t know anything about certain topics (Kurtz, P., 1992). One philosopher who utilized local skepticism was David Hume. He held negative conclusions about knowledge and made claims that there was very little that could be known with certainty. He asserted that people’s belief in the reality of an external world was entirely irrational. Hume rejected matter and minds because neither one ever could be directly experienced and are both derived from custom and habit. He also claimed that causality was meaningless which eluded to his rejection of science. His skeptical conclusions did seem to alienate him but his work became a springboard that would enable another to push the limits he set forth. According to the text, Hume’s conclusions did “arouse Immanuel Kant from his dogmatic slumbers.”

After reading Hume’s work it provoked Kant to reexamine his life’s work. Kant sought justification for his scientific beliefs concerning causality, time, and space and while he also would be classified as a local skeptic he pushed the limits seeing that empiricism and rationalism alone couldn’t guarantee certitude. He borrowed from both to conclude that we could know a little more than Hume’s previous claims. His position states that form is derived from reason and content comes from sense experience.

So as we have seen, doubt is at the very heart of philosophy and a skeptical attitude is sometimes the only way to find truth. Sometimes that attitude can be used as method to enable us to find that truth or it leads us to skeptical conclusions about how much of the truth we can know. Some of those seemingly certain conclusions can become the impetus which becomes the spark that ignites another’s mind in order to push the limits of knowledge.

References

Kurtz, Paul. The New Skepticism – Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1992).