Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Skepticism: is an expression for the more or less well-formulated view that perceptual subjects cannot in principle have any security with regard to their knowledge about the external world. The doubts about the reliability of the sensory organs can be extended to doubts about the existence of an external world, if the possibility of a fundamental deception, for example by a permanent dream, is accepted. See also verification, evidence, perception, certainty, Moore's hands, solipsism._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Thompson Clarke on Skepticism - Dictionary of Arguments
Stroud I 101 Dream/Skepticism/Thompson Clarke/Stroud: Ex One physiology lectures that people with certain disorders do not know if they are awake. Pointe: he has not answered a philosophical problem with this. Then he is not misusing the word "knowledge" either. - And this is exactly how we use the word. >Knowledge. Stroud I 264 Skepticism/Stroud: solution/Thompson Clarke: two uses of words (>representativity). - Proposition: skeptical doubts are ambiguous a) "commonplace b) "philosophical": ex. sleep researcher: uses "dream" everyday. Real possibilities: must be understood everyday. - Philosophical: here knowledge imagined as acquired on waking would have to be inviolable. - I.e. the philosophical problem is that I can never tell if I woke up. I 267 Clarke: Thesis: But if I can never know "philosophically" whether I dream, then the dream possibility does not exist at all: I would have to imagine something that I cannot imagine at all. - ((s) here the possibility to wake up is always presupposed). Stroud I 267 Dream/ClarkeVsSkepticism: skepticism negates the knowledge it presupposes. - Real possibility: exists only if knowledge is not questioned. Generalization/Clarke/Stroud: it follows that I cannot question all my knowledge. Here, a possible success in a particular case cannot be generalized - that would only be possible if it were possible to have the knowledge that occurs in that possibility. - Therefore, I cannot question all my knowledge. ((s) Here no objects are doubted, but facts or statements.) Dream/ClarkeVsSkepticism: skepticism negates the knowledge it presupposes. Real possibility: exists only if knowledge is not questioned. Stroud I 269 Skepticism/Solution/Clarke: Skepticism would be falsified: a) if somebody wakes up b) if someone from outside would come to earth. Conclusion: no skepticism follows from the dream possibility, even if it is involved in the everyday knowability of the external world. Stroud: Question: does the dream possibility presuppose knowledge? I have shown how complicated this is. Clarke: this touches on the question of objectivity: someone else must determine that I am dreaming. - ((s) If no one was ever awake, the word has a different meaning). But when all dream, they cannot be "in the same boat"! - They cannot be in the same dream as dreamers. ((s) The meaning of dream is that I cannot determine the content of your dream). - It is useless to ask if the demon or God is not dreaming himself._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Stroud I B. Stroud The Significance of philosophical scepticism Oxford 1984 |
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