scep·ti·cism in AM, use skepticism Scepticism is great doubt about whether something is true or useful. There was considerable scepticism about the Chancellor's forecast of a booming economy. skepticism an attitude of doubting that particular claims or statements are true or that something will happen
In general, skepticism is a doubting or questioning attitude, often associated with a doubting or questioning attitude toward religion Specifically, skepticism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes that absolute knowledge is unattainable, and therefore inquiry must be a process of doubting in order to acquire approximate or relative certainty
in philosophy, doctrine that denies the possibility of attaining knowledge of reality as it is in itself By gradual extension of its meaning, the word "skepticism" has also come to signify any doubt about what is generally accepted as true All philosophical skepticism ultimately relates to epistemology
{i} tendency to doubt, tendency to question the validity of claims, uncertainty; philosophical doctrine which maintains that true knowledge is unobtainable or uncertain; tendency to doubt religious principles
Skepticism is the philosophical approach that denies that the world can be objectively known in any absolute sense It further denies the true know ability of God
the modern usage of the word skepticism refers to an active belief of not accepting anything in psychic phenomena and the afterlife It also refers to a rejection of anything which is usually outside the five senses Some claim that skepticism refers to 'doubting' anything until its alleged existence is proved but the author's experience shows that skepticism has become a belief in nothingness
The doctrine that no fact or principle can be certainly known; the tenet that all knowledge is uncertain; Pyrrohonism; universal doubt; the position that no fact or truth, however worthy of confidence, can be established on philosophical grounds; critical investigation or inquiry, as opposed to the positive assumption or assertion of certain principles
is the view that there is no such thing as moral or ethical knowledge Moral philosophy isn ot a discipline that acquires true beliefs or advances human knowledge or understanding; it only renders opinions
A position that denies the possibility of knowledge As with relativism, it is possible either to have total skepticism or to limit one's skepticism to certain fields
The idea that nothing can be known for certain Nowadays, a skeptic is simply someone who is reluctant to believe ideas for which there is no firm evidence (e g astrology)
see scepticism. the American spelling of scepticism. Philosophical doubting of knowledge claims in various areas. From ancient to modern times, skeptics have challenged accepted views in metaphysics, science, morals, and religion. Pyrrhon of Elis ( 360-272 BC) sought mental peace by avoiding commitment to any particular view; his approach gave rise in the lst century BC to Pyrrhonism, proponents of which sought to achieve suspension of judgment by systematically opposing various knowledge claims. One of its later leaders, Sextus Empiricus (2nd or 3rd century AD), strove for a state of imperturbability. Modern skeptical philosophers include Michel de Montaigne, Pierre Bayle, and David Hume