Arguments against Philosophical Skepticism

1952 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hume on knowledge

‘Skepticism’ refers the theory that we do not possess any knowledge; skepticism denies any existence of justified belief. This paper discusses the varieties of philosophical skepticism and explains the various skeptical arguments and responses to philosophical skepticism, along with both Hume, and Descartes take on skepticism. This paper will also describe the various arguments against skepticism along with their justification. While the arguments for skepticism and its various forms seem valid and theoretically proven to be justified, my stance is against skepticism. I believe that skepticism may exist in various forms; however, I believe that the true nature of skepticism’s in Hume’s theory is not entirely justifiable and I personally do not believe in that form of skepticism. I argue that while skepticism has seemingly proven reasoning’s the proof of the external world and its knowledge is more justified. I believe there is no positive reason for taking skepticism into account, making skeptical hypothesis inaccurate.
Skepticism questions the notion whether certain knowledge is possible; it is the opposition of philosophical dogmatism, which holds the assertion and authority of a set of statements to be true. Descartes states the following on skepticism:
To have knowledge, we need to be able to tell the difference between hallucination (deception) and a perception (where there us no relevant difference, no epistemological distinction can be made). It is impossible to distinguish between a hallucination (or deception) and a normal perception. Therefore we do not know whether any of our perceptual beliefs are true. (Pojman, 200)

Skepticism refers to two positions, knowledge and justification. There are two different classes of kn...

... middle of paper ...

...e, and P. H. Nidditch. "Of the Origin of Our Ideas." A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford: Clarendon, 1978. N. pag. Print.
Hume, David, L. A. Selby-Bigge, P. H. Nidditch, and David Hume. Enquiries concerning Human Understanding and concerning the Principles of Morals. Oxford: Clarendon, 1975. Print.
Pojman, Louis P. "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding." Philosophical Traditions: A Text with Readings. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1998. 205. Print.
Pojman, Louis P. "Do We Have Knowledge of the External World?" Philosophical Traditions: A Text with Readings. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1998. 208. Print.
Moore, G. E. "Proof of the External World." 2005. Philosophical Papers. London: Allen and Unwin, 1959. 145-46. Print.
Malcolm, Norman. "Knowledge and Belief." 2005. Knowledge and Certainty: Essays and Lectures. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1975. 274-77. Print.

Show More
Related

  • David Hume's Argument Against Belief in the Existence of Miracles

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beuchamp, Tom (ed), David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, ( Oxford University Press 1999).

    Read More

  • An Examination of the Second Meditation of Descartes

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that could not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology.

    Read More

  • Perspective and the Right Reasons View in Solving Epistemic Disagreements.

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    (1) Kelly, Thomas (2005). “The Epistemic Significance of Disagreement.” Oxford Studies in Epistemology. Eds. Tamar Szabo Gendler and John Hawthorne. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg.1 – 36.

    Read More

  • Meditation By Rene Descartes

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rene Descartes’ greatest work, Meditations on First Philosophy, attempts to build the base of knowledge through a skeptical point of view. In the First Meditation, Descartes argues that his knowledge has been built on reason and his senses, yet how does he know that those concepts are not deceiving him? He begins to doubt that his body exists, and compares himself to an insane person. What if he is delusional about his social ranking, or confused about the color of his clothes, or even unaware of the material that his head is made of? This is all because the senses are deceiving, even in our dreams we experience realistic visions and feelings. Finally, Descartes comes to the conclusion that everything must be doubted, and begins to build his

    Read More

  • Descartes Skepticism

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Descartes’ first two Meditations are arguably the most widely known philosophical works. Because of this, one can make the error of assuming that Descartes’ method of doubt is self-evident and that its philosophical implications are relatively minor. However, to assume this would be a grave mistake. In this paper, I hope to spread light on exactly what Descartes’ method of doubt is, and how, though it furnishes challenges for the acceptance of the reality of the external world, it nonetheless does not lead to external world skepticism.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Ambiguity

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wittgenstein, Ludwig; G. E. M. Anscombe, P.M.S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte (eds. and trans.). Philosophical Investigations. 4th edition, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Cartesian Skepticism Created By René Descartes

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cartesian Skepticism, created by René Descartes, is the process of doubting ones’ beliefs of what they happen to consider as true in the hopes of uncovering the absolute truths in life. This methodology is used to distinguish between what is the truth and what is false, with anything that cannot be considered an absolute truth being considered a reasonable doubt. Anything which then becomes categorized as a reasonable doubt is perceived as false. As Descartes goes through this process, he then realizes that the one thing that can be considered an absolutely truth is his and every other individual’s existence. Along with the ideology of Cartesian skepticism, through the thinking process, we are capable of the ability to doubt that which is surrounding them. This ability to think logically and doubt is what leads us to the confirmation of our existence.

    Read More

  • David Hume's Argument on Passion and Morality

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hume, David. “A Treatise of Human Nature. Excerpts from Book III. Part I. Sect. I-II.”

    Read More

  • Skepticism Essay

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    If there is something that will make a person happy, he should definitely do it and skepticism will help students to understand this concept. The article also states that skepticism “generates personal responsibility for changing ourselves and our world rather than waiting for or giving credit to a divine, mystical being to fix things and conduct our lives based on reality, not delusive wishful-thinking” (Geiger).

    Read More

  • The Woman in Love by Simone de Beauvoir

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Beauvoir, Simone de []. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Problem of Induction

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hume, D. (1748). Skeptical doubts concerning the operations of the understanding. In T.S. Gendler, S. Siegel, S.M. Cahn (Eds.) , The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from Past and Present (pp. 422-428). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Read More

  • Objective Knowledge Essay

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this paper I will explain what objective knowledge is and why we can have objective knowledge. I will clearly define several key terms that are crucial to this discussion. With these definitions in mind, I will explain the necessity of objective knowledge for reason and reality. Then, I will outline and expound on a reduction absurdum argument, explaining the contradictory postulate and exposing a contradiction. Finally, I will describe the view of Global Skepticism, and show how the Global Skeptic lives in opposition to his or her outlook. Through these arguments, it will be apparent that logic and reality demand the existence of objective knowledge.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Augustine And Al Ghazali

    1881 Words  | 4 Pages

    The argument that is used in the idea of skepticism has comparable and incompatible views given from Augustine and Al-Ghazali. Both monologues cover and explain the doubts one should have, due to the

    Read More

  • Buddhism and No-Self

    1950 Words  | 4 Pages

    Robinson, R. R. (1994). Some methodological approaches to the unexplained points. Philosophy 2B/3B (pp. 27-34). Melbourne: La Trobe University.

    Read More

  • The Nature of Faith

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many aspects of our lives, the use of faith as a basis for knowledge can be found. Whether it is faith in the advice of your teacher, faith in a God or faith in a scientific theory, it is present. But what is faith? A definition of faith in a theory of knowledge context is the confident belief or trust in a knowledge claim by a knower, without the knower having conclusive evidence. This is because if a knowledge claim is backed up by evidence, then we would use reason rather than faith as a basis for knowledge . If we define knowledge as ‘justified true belief’, it can be seen that faith, being without justification, can never fulfill this definition, and so cannot be used as a reliable basis for knowledge. However, the question arises, what if a certain knowledge claim lies outside of the realm of reason? What if a knowledge claim cannot be justified by empirical evidence and reasoning alone, such as a religious knowledge claim? It is then that faith allows the knower to decide what is knowledge and what is not, when something cannot be definitively proved through the use of evidence. When assessing faith as a basis for knowledge in the natural sciences, the fact arises that without faith in the research done before us, it is impossible to develop further knowledge on top of it. Yet at the same time, if we have unwavering faith in existing theories, they would never be challenged, and so our progress of knowledge in the natural sciences would come to a standstill. Although I intend to approach this essay in a balanced manner, this essay may be subject to a small degree of bias, due to my own non-religious viewpoint.

    Read More

More about Arguments against Philosophical Skepticism

Open Document