SCEPTICISM: summary and characteristics

In this lesson from a TEACHER we offer you a brief summary of skepticism and characteristics, a philosophical doctrine that defends that the truth does not exist and, if it exists, the human being not might know her. The word "skeptic" comes from the Greek "skeptikoi", which derives from "skeptesthai", (to examine), and the philosophers skeptical, they doubt or they deny everything that is conventionally accepted as true. The relationship of the human being and the world It will be the fundamental problem of this philosophical movement, whose main representatives were Pirrón and Sexto Empírico.

If you want to know more about the skepticism and its characteristics, continue reading this lesson offered by a TEACHER. The class begins!, Attentive!

The skepticism is a philosophical current that questions everything there is, as well as the individual world relationship. The truth, they assure, does not exist and if it existed, the human being is not capable of knowing it. Pirrón maintained that he "did not affirm anything, only gave his opinion."

It is not a question of denying the obvious, but rather that, to affirm something, it is necessary to have objective data. But how everything is subjective, because it depends on the subject that he wants to know and not of object to know, then, the objective truth, does not exist.

The skeptical attitude is that of one who does not make judgments, only opinions. The suspension of trials or epojè, leads to ataraxia, absence of passions or inner peace. Based on this position, there is no need for an objective truth, as it does not exist, and arguments are avoided. This leads to peace of mind.

“Diversity of opinion exists among the wise as well as the ignorant. Any opinion that I have can be repudiated by people just as smart and prepared as me, and with arguments as valid as mine ", assured Pirrón.

Skepticism has its origin in the philosophy of the sophists, in the 5th century BC. C, being Gorgias, its main representative. The sophist claimed that nothing exists or that if it does exist, it cannot be known.

During the Hellenistic stage, Pirron of Elis, applies skepticism to the field of morality. The thought of him is known, since he did not leave anything written, through Rudder, his disciple, who said of his teacher that denied, even the knowledge of the first principles of the logic of Aristotle

But Antisthenes, the founder of the cynical school, goes beyond Pyrrho, denying his own philosophy. We have only fragments of his work, although Diogenes of Sinope, his disciple, assures that he wrote countless texts.

Diogenes Laertius on Lives,opinions and judgments of the most illustrious philosophers, he defines the statement as “that which says what something is or was”.

Later, Sixth Empirical, heavily influenced by Pyrrho, he denies the possibility of knowing the truth, leading skepticism, not only to morality, but also to the scientific field. In his work Pyrronic sketches writes that skepticism is:

"La power to oppose phenomena and noumena in all possible ways and hence the cause of the balance of things and from the opposite reasons (isostenía) we arrive first at the suspension of trials (epoché) and then at indifference ('ataraxia')".

Skepticism recovers the problem of knowledge with Hume, Kant or Bertrand Russell.

“Sixth Empirical tells us that Epicurus, as a child, while reading with his tutor these verses from Hesiod: The oldest of beings, chaos, arose first; then, the immense land, seat of everything”. David hume

The main characteristics of skepticism are as follows:

1. Not there is possibility of true knowledge. The truth does not exist, and if it exists, there is no possibility of knowing it.
2. There is no truth or falsehood, just opinions, so it does not make sense to argue about them, in this way, it is possible to achieve the peace of mind.
3. The epojè, suspension of trials, leads to ataraxia or absence of passions, or what is the same, peace inside.
4. The things, the actions, in themselves, they are not good or bad, are indifferent, so the epojèIn this sense, it is the best option.
5. There are no judgments, only opinions. "Being" is not the same as "appearing"
6. From the ataraxiaSkeptics claim, it is possible to look carefully at the world, with extreme care.
7. It does not claim, but does not deny.
8. Put in duda of the information from the senses
9. They doubt the existence of God, of the soul, of immortality.
10. Doubt of the existence of knowledge scientific;
11. They doubt what true and what fake.

Today, skepticism applies to scientific knowledge. For example, the scientific community questions some of the practices, which qualify as pseudoscience, such as homeopathy, psychoanalysis, extraterrestrials, religion, etc.