Essay on "Global Skepticism"

Essay 7 pages (2215 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Global Skeptisim

Global Skepticism Analysis

The post I am analyzing is as follows:

On page 31 of the book, skepticism is defined as: the view that knowledge is not possible. Michael Shermer argues that "skeptics are neither close-minded nor cynical but that skepticism is embodied in the scientific method and is an important element in a rational and truthful view of the world. How do we know anything is true?

From my stand-point I look at past historical events and think "How do we know this actually happened?" What proof is there that the events actually occured? I feel like we are taught to just go with the facts that what we are learned actually happened without questioning.

Bertrand Russel began by seeking certainty in "Appearance and Reality," that there is always a distinction between appearance and reality. He claimed Philosophy has "the power of asking questions."

I agree with Russel's claim. There is always a distinction between what something appears as and what it really is. After reading the book, I too see myself being a global skeptic.

The topic that is considered both within this analysis and within the preceding post is the exploration of, and validity regarding, global skepticism in relation to epistemology. For all practical purposes, epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of knowledge and its origin. As the author of the preceding post has made abundantly clear, skepticism is an inherent doubt in the existence of knowledge. However, when one discusses skepticism from an epistemological point-of-view, it is crucial to denote the fact that there are actually a couple of different varieties of philosophical skepticism that are related to the different theories pertaining to conceptions of knowledge. In addition to skepticism (which is either global or local) -- other theories of knowledge, that have their own doubts about its origin and existence include rationalism and as empiricism. Empiricism and rationalism are fairly important to a discussion and analysis of global skepticism, for the simple fact that they contain perspectives that are applicable to the doubting of knowledge that is an intrinsic aspect of skepticism. To that end, both empiricism and rationalism can provide fairly integral information for refuting the credibility of global skepticism.

Empiricism largely pertains to the senses and sensory perception, and bases the foundation for a belief in knowledge to man's perceptions of sight, sound, touch, taste, and scent. Subsequently, empiricists choose to validate the authenticity of knowledge based on proof that is evident through the means of the five senses. That which is outside of the range of the perception of the five senses in viscerally doubted for the simple fact that it cannot prove itself through the conventional means of one's senses. Rationalism is the third epistemological theory of demonstrating the existence of knowledge. Rationalists base their beliefs of knowledge upon logic and rationale, and are willing to grant credibility to facts and aspects of knowledge that are outside of the five senses (such as a priori facts) (Klein 2011) -- so long as it is rational and provable through principles of reasoning. When one combines both of these theories (and the inherent doubts they pose regarding other theories) of knowledge with global skepticism -- which attempts to validate the existence of knowledge through intermittently questioning its sources and its authenticity -- it becomes plausible that principles of global skepticism can be augmented (or perhaps even refuted) by these other methodologies.

To the author of the preceding post's credit, he or she was able to correctly posit the fact that global skepticism is widely based upon an intrinsic questioning of knowledge and facts (Chappell 2009). Moreover, the author states that the form of inquisitiveness that is the central component of global skepticism is necessary because of the "distinction" between what something appears as and what it actually is. Despite the fact that the author bases this assertion upon the preceding work of Russel, which explored this same concept, the author has made an unsubstantiated claim, that "There is always" a difference between appearances and reality. At best such a claim is unproven, while at worst such a statement is a broad generalization that is akin to stereotyping circumstances and things.

However, after reading the author's post it is fairly apparent that he or she has propounded the statement that differences inherently exist between appearances and reality due to the notions of questioning that are integral to global skepticism. It is largely due to the fact that one can actually doubt the authenticity of things by questioning their veracity that the author posited the fact that in congruencies will always exist between reality and appearances. To underscore this point, the author utilizes a number of rhetorical questions that serve as examples that virtually anything can be questioned in regards to its authenticity. Lastly, the author reasons that since one can question all things, and that this propensity for questioning means there is a difference between what things appear as and what they actually are, that this aspect of global skepticism "the power of asking questions" is convincing enough to make him or her a global skeptic.

There are several points of contention that arise when one examines the author's logic and the conclusion that he or she has made based upon it regarding the value of global skepticism. The strength of the notions propounded within this post is that questioning is a valid form of identifying the authenticity of a fact or some form of knowledge. However, when the author lists a few rhetorical questions to support the concept that virtually is questionable and is therefore doubtable as well, he or she actually weakens the argument by alluding to things that are outside the scope of questioning -- such as history. For instance, the author states "I look at past historical events and thing "How do we know this actually happened?." Yet history is one of the aspects of knowledge that is most provable. Cognizance of this fact should not escape the author, who would only need to examine certain aspects of his or her own life to show that there are some forms of knowledge pertaining to history that are irrefutable.

For example, let us assume that while composing the post in this analysis, the author got up and got a glass of water to drink. Five minutes after the fact, the author would have no reason to doubt, or to question, whether or not he or she had actually drank the water. The author was there, present in the moment when the water was consumed, and there is no need to doubt the fact that it was because this event had already taken place in history. A simple example such as this disproves the author's contention that everything this deserving of questioning and doubt, which is why global skepticism is a reliable source of epistemology.

A slight variation of the preceding examples also demonstrates that history does in fact offer proofs or testaments to preceding events. Let us now suppose that while drinking the author's glass of water she dropped the container on the floor, which promptly shattered into myriad pieces. Therefore, instead of having a perfect set of 20 glasses, the author's collection of such containers has now been reduced to 19. Additionally, let us suppose that one minute after the author dropped the cup, a friend came over to borrow some sugar. There are a number of forms of proof that some historical occurrence -- namely the fact that the author broke a glass of water -- actually took place. One such example of the evidence that such a historical example could provide is the fact that there is broken glass all over the floor. The shards of broken glass indisputably testify to the fact that a glass has been broken. Other forms of proof include the spilled water that also adorns the floor, as well as the words of the author -- who was present when the event took place -- which testify to the fact that a glass was broken. Therefore, when the author asks in the posting, "What proof is there that…events actually occurred" and the events in questions are those in a historical context, the answer to that question helps to undo her proposition that there is an inherent uncertainty in things due to a dubious questioning. The answer, of course, is there are historical monuments of the aftermath of events (such as the broken glass on the floor) that indicate that things have happened -- which are akin to first hand sources. Also, there are testimonials of people who were present when things happened (such as the author herself in the preceding example) that can ensure people as to what took place in history -- which are akin to secondary sources.

Additionally, as alluded to in the restatement of the author's argument, a statement such as "There is always a distinction between what something appears as and what… READ MORE

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