skepticism
Sign in to saveSkepticism (US) or scepticism (UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the person doubts that these claims are accurate. In such cases, skeptics normally recommend not disbelief but suspension of belief, i.e. maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms nor denies the claim. This attitude is often motivated by the impression that the available evidence is insufficient to support the claim. Formally, skepticism is a topic of i
AI overview
Skepticism is a questioning attitude that involves doubting knowledge claims when they seem to be based on belief or dogma rather than solid evidence—for instance, being skeptical about government claims means suspending judgment rather than automatically believing or disbelieving them. It matters because skepticism encourages people to maintain a neutral stance toward claims lacking sufficient evidence, rather than accepting them uncritically or rejecting them outright.
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Article
12 sectionsContents
- Definition and semantic field
- Types
- In various fields
- Philosophy
- Religion
- Science
- Auditing
- See also
- Notes
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
Skepticism (US) or scepticism (UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the person doubts that these claims are accurate. In such cases, skeptics normally recommend not disbelief but suspension of belief, i.e. maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms nor denies the claim. This attitude is often motivated by the impression that the available evidence is insufficient to support the claim. Formally, skepticism is a topic of interest in philosophy, particularly epistemology.
More informally, skepticism as an expression of questioning or doubt can be applied to any topic, such as politics, religion, or pseudoscience. It is often applied within restricted domains, such as morality (moral skepticism), atheism (skepticism about the existence of God), or the supernatural. Some theorists distinguish "good" or moderate skepticism, which seeks strong evidence before accepting a position, from "bad" or radical skepticism, which wants to suspend judgment indefinitely.