Skepticism: How to be a Skeptic and Intelligent, Critical Thinker

By Gary Dankock

This is a 2-book combo, which has the following titles:



Book 1: Skepticism is a philosophical movement that has been in existence for centuries. And even though some may call it old and outdated, studying this concept can bring enlightenment to the soul. Sometimes, being skeptical is erroneously connected to simply being negative. But this assumption is far from the truth.


In this guide, you will learn how the skepticism movement has evolved over the past few centuries, what it is today, how it makes complete sense and how it differs from cynicism. These things are explained in a handful of pages, but the information you can get out of this, is well worth your time.



Book 2: Skepticism has been criticized, ironically, and optimism has been glorified beyond all reason. There are sub-cults in the self-help industry that will judge anyone who questions the claims of gurus, and there are many people who are afraid to doubt the things they are told. Today, we need more skepticism in science and psychology. We need people who don’t take claims as truth when they have not been fully proven.


So, in an answer to the question: Why skepticism? I say, because it can help us think clearly, be more realistic, and have better results in life. In this guide, we will focus on just that. We will also touch on why skepticism isn’t always the same as pessimism or cynicism, and how we should rewire our brains to think more independently and intelligently.


Join these thought processes today by reading or listening to this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anonymous
• Release date: Nov 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9791220223041

Book preview

Skepticism

Chapter 1: Skepticism in Philosophy

Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, in Western philosophy, the mindset of questioning knowledge claims stated in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or reliability of these claims by asking what concepts they are based upon or what they actually establish. They have doubted whether some of those claims truly are, as declared, or always true, and they have challenged the purported logical premises of accepted assumptions. In everyday life, practically everyone is skeptical about some knowledge claims; but philosophical skeptics have doubted the possibility of any knowledge beyond that of the contents of straight felt experience. The original Greek meaning of skeptikos was an inquirer, a person who was disappointed and still searching for truth.

From ancient times onward skeptics have developed arguments to weaken the contentions of dogmatic theorists, researchers, and theologians. The skeptical arguments and their work against different forms of dogmatism have played a crucial role in forming both the issues and the solutions offered in the course of Western philosophy. As age-old philosophy and science developed, doubts occurred about numerous basic, commonly accepted beliefs about the world. In ancient times, skeptics challenged the claims of Plato and Aristotle and their followers, as well as those of the Stoics; and at the time of the Renaissance comparable challenges were raised against the claims of Scholasticism and Calvinism. In the 17th century, skeptics assaulted Cartesianism (the system established by the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes) together with other theories that attempted to validate the scientific revolution initiated by Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo. Somewhat later, a doubtful offensive was leveled against the Enlightenment theorist Immanuel Kant and then against the philosophical idealist Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and his followers. Each challenge caused new efforts to deal with the skeptical troubles. Skepticism, especially since the Knowledge, has come to mean shock-- mainly spiritual shock-- and the skeptic has typically been likened to the town atheist.

Senses And Applications

Skepticism developed with regard to different disciplines in which people claimed to have knowledge. It was questioned, for instance, whether one could acquire any certain knowledge in metaphysics (the philosophical study of the standard nature, structure, or aspects of reality) or in the sciences. In old times a primary form of skepticism was health skepticism, which questioned whether one could know with certainty either the causes or treatments of illnesses. In the area of principles, doubts were raised about accepting different mores and customs and about saying any unbiased basis for making judgments of value. Skeptics of religion have questioned the teachings of different customs. Particular approaches, like those of Kant and his Scottish contemporary David Hume, have seemed to show that no knowledge can be acquired past the world of experience and that one can't find the real causes of experienced phenomena. Any effort to do so, as Kant argued, leads to antinomies, or inconsistent knowledge claims. A dominant form of skepticism (the subject of this short article) concerns knowledge in general, questioning whether anything actually can be known with complete or sufficient certainty. This type is called epistemological skepticism.

The various kinds of epistemological skepticism can be separated in regard to the parts in which doubts are raised-- that is, whether the doubts are directed towards reason, toward the senses, or to knowledge of things-in-themselves (things as they truly are, rather than as they appear to human observers). Forms of skepticism can also be distinguished in regard to the inspiration of the skeptic-- whether he's difficult views for ideological reasons or for practical or practical ones in order to get certain psychological goals. Amongst the chief ideological intentions have been religious or antireligious concerns. Some skeptics have challenged knowledge claims so that they could be changed by religious claims that would have to be accepted on the basis of faith. Others have challenged spiritual knowledge claims so as to conquer some orthodoxy. Sort of skepticism can also be distinguished in terms of how restricted or how thoroughgoing they are-- whether they apply only to certain parts and to certain types of knowledge