Intro to Epistemology

🤓Intro to Epistemology Unit 3 – Skepticism: Ancient Greek to Modern Responses

Skepticism, a cornerstone of epistemology, questions our ability to know anything with certainty. From ancient Greek thinkers to modern philosophers, skeptical arguments have challenged our beliefs about knowledge, perception, and reality. This unit explores key skeptical concepts, historical developments, and responses to skepticism. We'll examine influential arguments like Descartes' evil demon and Hume's problem of induction, as well as contemporary debates in epistemology and their practical implications.

Key Concepts and Definitions

  • Skepticism questions the possibility of knowledge or certainty
  • Epistemology studies the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge
  • Pyrrhonian skepticism suspends judgment about all beliefs
  • Academic skepticism denies the possibility of certain knowledge
  • Cartesian skepticism doubts the reliability of sensory experience (evil demon argument)
  • Agrippa's trilemma presents three unsatisfactory options for justifying beliefs (infinite regress, circular reasoning, or arbitrary assumption)
  • Epistemic justification provides reasons or evidence for a belief
    • Internalism holds that justification depends on factors internal to the believer
    • Externalism holds that justification can depend on external factors beyond the believer's awareness
  • Reliabilism is a form of externalism that ties justification to reliable belief-forming processes

Historical Context of Skepticism

  • Ancient Greek philosophers (Pyrrho, Arcesilaus, Carneades) developed early forms of skepticism
  • Hellenistic period saw the rise of competing philosophical schools (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism)
  • Medieval philosophy grappled with the relationship between faith and reason
  • Renaissance thinkers revived interest in ancient skeptical arguments
  • Enlightenment philosophers (Descartes, Hume) raised new skeptical challenges
    • Descartes' methodological doubt sought to find a foundation for knowledge
    • Hume questioned the justification of inductive reasoning and causality
  • 20th-century philosophers (Moore, Wittgenstein) responded to skeptical arguments
  • Contemporary epistemology continues to engage with skeptical issues

Ancient Greek Skepticism

  • Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-270 BCE) is considered the founder of skepticism
    • Emphasized suspension of judgment (epoché) and tranquility (ataraxia)
    • Argued that we cannot know the true nature of things beyond appearances
  • Academic skepticism developed in Plato's Academy under Arcesilaus and Carneades
    • Arcesilaus (c. 315-240 BCE) criticized Stoic epistemology and argued against the possibility of certain knowledge
    • Carneades (c. 214-129 BCE) introduced the idea of probable reasoning and degrees of justification
  • Aenesidemus (1st century BCE) revived Pyrrhonian skepticism and formulated the Ten Modes of skepticism
  • Sextus Empiricus (c. 160-210 CE) compiled skeptical arguments in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism
    • Distinguished between appearance and reality
    • Argued that for every argument, there is an equal and opposite argument
  • Ancient skeptics challenged dogmatic claims to knowledge in various fields (perception, ethics, metaphysics)

Medieval and Renaissance Skepticism

  • Augustine (354-430) grappled with skeptical arguments but ultimately affirmed the possibility of knowledge through divine illumination
  • Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) used skeptical arguments to challenge Aristotelian philosophy and argue for the supremacy of divine revelation
  • Renaissance thinkers such as Montaigne (1533-1592) and Sanches (1551-1623) revived ancient skeptical themes
    • Montaigne's Essays explored the limits of human knowledge and the diversity of customs and beliefs
    • Sanches' Quod Nihil Scitur ("That Nothing Is Known") argued against the possibility of scientia (certain knowledge)
  • Reformation debates about religious authority and interpretation fueled skeptical attitudes
  • The rediscovery of ancient texts (Sextus Empiricus) stimulated skeptical thinking
  • Skeptical arguments were used to undermine traditional authorities and encourage intellectual humility

Modern Skeptical Arguments

  • Descartes' evil demon argument raises the possibility that all our beliefs could be false
    • Even beliefs based on clear and distinct perception might be deceived by an all-powerful deceiver
  • Hume's problem of induction questions the justification of inductive inferences
    • No amount of observed regularities can logically guarantee future regularities
    • Inductive reasoning relies on the unjustified assumption of the uniformity of nature
  • Hume's skepticism about causation challenges our ability to know necessary connections between events
    • We only observe constant conjunctions, not causal powers or necessary connections
  • The problem of the external world questions our knowledge of mind-independent reality
    • The veil of perception (sense-data) seems to screen off direct access to external objects
  • Goodman's new riddle of induction illustrates the underdetermination of theory by evidence
    • Mutually incompatible hypotheses ("green" vs. "grue") can fit all past observations equally well
  • Quine's indeterminacy of translation thesis suggests there is no fact of the matter about meaning
    • Behavioral evidence alone cannot fix determinate meanings or rule out incompatible translation manuals

Responses to Skepticism

  • G.E. Moore's common sense philosophy appeals to the certainty of everyday knowledge claims
    • The skeptic's premises are less plausible than the commonsense beliefs they purport to undermine
  • Contextualism holds that knowledge attributions are context-sensitive
    • In ordinary contexts, knowledge claims are true and skeptical scenarios irrelevant
    • In skeptical contexts, knowledge claims are false and skeptical possibilities salient
  • Relevant alternatives theory argues that knowledge requires ruling out only relevant, not all logically possible, alternatives
  • Externalist theories (reliabilism, tracking theories) allow for knowledge without internalistically accessible justification
    • Reliably formed true beliefs can count as knowledge even if the believer cannot cite supporting reasons
    • Tracking theories (Nozick) require that beliefs be sensitive to the truth (S believes p only if p)
  • Disjunctivist theories deny a common element between veridical and non-veridical experiences
    • In the good case, perceivers are directly aware of mind-independent objects, not sense-data
  • Pragmatic responses emphasize the impracticality or self-defeating nature of skepticism
    • Skepticism undermines the presuppositions of rational inquiry and action
    • Belief is unavoidable in practice, even if not justified by skeptical standards

Practical Implications

  • Skepticism can promote intellectual humility and openness to alternative views
    • Recognizing the fallibility of human reason can temper dogmatism and encourage inquiry
  • Suspension of judgment may lead to tranquility and freedom from anxiety
  • Skeptical arguments can be used to challenge unjustified authorities or prejudices
  • Skepticism about moral realism may support moral anti-realism or non-cognitivism
    • If there are no objective moral facts, moral judgments may be seen as expressions of attitudes rather than truth-apt beliefs
  • Skepticism can motivate epistemic reforms or methodological improvements
    • The scientific method can be seen as a way of mitigating skeptical worries through empirical testing and replication
  • Radical skepticism may lead to relativism, nihilism, or pessimism about the possibility of knowledge
  • Pyrrhonian skepticism as a way of life emphasizes suspending belief, following appearances, and living undogmatically

Current Debates and Future Directions

  • Disagreement between neo-Pyrrhonists (Fogelin) and neo-Mooreans (Sosa) on the viability of skepticism
    • Neo-Pyrrhonists see skepticism as a permanent challenge to knowledge claims
    • Neo-Mooreans defend common sense and the possibility of knowledge in the face of skeptical arguments
  • Integrating insights from cognitive science and psychology into epistemological theories
    • Studying the actual processes of belief formation and reasoning, not just idealized norms
    • Accounting for implicit biases, heuristics, and motivated reasoning in theories of justification
  • Virtue epistemology focuses on intellectual character traits rather than individual beliefs
    • Intellectual virtues (open-mindedness, curiosity, intellectual humility) as conducive to knowledge
    • Intellectual vices (dogmatism, closed-mindedness, wishful thinking) as obstacles to knowledge
  • Social epistemology examines the social dimensions of knowledge production and transmission
    • Investigating the effects of social position, power relations, and institutions on knowledge claims
    • Studying the epistemology of testimony, disagreement, and expertise
  • Feminist epistemology challenges traditional conceptions of objectivity and impartiality
    • Arguing for the situatedness of knowers and the role of social identity in shaping epistemic perspectives
    • Developing alternative epistemologies (standpoint theory, epistemologies of resistance)
  • Applying skeptical arguments to new domains (self-knowledge, memory, perception, a priori reasoning)
  • Skeptical theism questions the inference from apparent evil to the non-existence of God
  • Moral skepticism challenges the existence of objective moral facts or the possibility of moral knowledge


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© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.