The skepticism tag has no wiki summary.
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1answer
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What are the skepticism ideas Nagel refers to in “The Absurd”?
In Thomas Nagel's article "The Absurd", there's this note:
I am aware that skepticism about the external world is widely thought to
have been refuted, but I have remained convinced of its ...
5
votes
2answers
112 views
Was Karl Popper a “dedicated opponent of all forms of scepticism”? If so, why, or how?
While reading the Wikipedia article on Karl Popper, I was surprised to find that one of the article's sources, in its lede paragraph, claims that Karl Popper was a "dedicated opponent of all forms of ...
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votes
2answers
122 views
Can we create the Matrix?
Can we fully simulate the reality for a Brain in the Vat (BIV)?
For example i clone myself and connect the clone's brain to a very sophisticated computer, which simulates a part of the universe (for ...
3
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2answers
199 views
Inductive reasoning and justification
Most people agree that knowing something one acquired from inductive reasoning is knowledge, that is justified true belief. For example we observed for years, that Sun rises from the East, we still ...
2
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2answers
116 views
Convincing a brain in a vat of reality
Pondering at the arguments at wiki:
In other words, if a brain in a vat stated "I am a brain in a vat", it
would always be stating a falsehood. If the brain making this
statement lives in the ...
3
votes
2answers
119 views
What is Kant’s strategy to overcome Humean skepticism without having recourse to the metaphysical excesses of rationalism?
I understand that by metaphysical excesses, he meant supernatural entities, such as God, or the soul, to explain things in the phenomenal world.
Also, to my understanding, Hume's skepticism boils ...
2
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2answers
105 views
Evidence for ~P vs evidence that P is very unlikely?
Is saying that P is very unlikely, the same as saying that you believe ~P?
Does it follow rationally, that if P is very unlikely, one should believe ~P?
And would the evidence for P being very ...
-1
votes
1answer
89 views
Who has made the strongest case in favor of skepticism?
Which brand of skepticism is the hardest to refute or argue against? What argument has given the other theories of knowledge the hardest time?
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6answers
326 views
Claims that we know (virtually) nothing - can they be refuted?
Here's an argument that I've heard a number of times from friends and on the Internet:
"The ratio of what we know about the universe to what we have yet to
discover is so small - it is therefore ...
4
votes
1answer
162 views
Did Wittgenstein's maxim about doubt and knowing originate from Descartes?
Wittgenstein said, "If you cannot doubt a thing, you cannot know it."
For example he said that you cannot know your pain because you cannot doubt that you are in pain. I don't quite understand this ...
11
votes
3answers
338 views
Does skepticism inevitably lead to ethical relativism?
In this question, I will make a slippery slope argument. It's probably fallacious, but your task is the identify the point where one step does not inevitablly lead to the next step and explain why ...
13
votes
5answers
410 views
Is it possible for a layperson to suitably evaluate scientific disputes?
As a layperson, I try not to fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect. As an example, one area where I know that I am vulnerable is when biochemistry intersects with nutrition and disease.
Is it ...
12
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2answers
526 views
Are there any philosophical arguments to disprove or weaken solipsism?
My philosophy professor once told our class: The only people who believe in solipsism are infants and madmen. I was inclined to agree at the time. Yet years later, I have still not encountered any ...
12
votes
4answers
614 views
Is Skepticism the most rational standpoint?
Is Philosophical Skepticism - the one that advocates true knowledge is impossible, the most rational standpoint?
I am asking this based on the observation that there are very few things whose ...
29
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12answers
2k views
Could 'cogito ergo sum' possibly be false?
I've heard it postulated by some people that "we can't truly know anything". Whilst that does seem to apply to the vast majority of things, I can't see how 'cogito ergo sum' can possibly be false. ...
