Skepticism

 A  brief summay 

Skepticism as a philosophical doctrine arose in the period of crisis in ancient Greek society (4th century BC) as a reaction to previous philosophical systems that through speculative reasoning tried to explain the sensible world, often contradicting each other. Skepticism is a current of philosophical thought that suspends the possibility of knowing the truth and, in some cases, denies it. This current flourished in Greek antiquity with the thought of Pyrrho (360-270 BC), which was based on doubt.

 

The arguments of skepticism vary according to the philosophical current that is being considered. However, some of the most common arguments include the idea that human knowledge is limited and that we cannot be sure of anything. Another common argument is that we cannot trust our senses to provide us with accurate information about the world.

 

Skepticism is related to other philosophical currents such as dogmatism and empiricism. Dogmatism is a philosophical current that maintains that the truth can be known by reason and that there is an objective reality. Empiricism is a philosophical current that maintains that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation.

 

Criticisms of skepticism are mainly within moral realism. The moral realist holds that there are, in fact, good reasons to believe that there are objective moral truths and that we are justified in holding many moral beliefs. Other criticisms of skepticism include the idea that skepticism can be self-destructive and can lead to paralysis of action.

Determinism

 

Philosophical determinism is a doctrine that holds that every event, decision, and action is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. That is, everything that happens in the universe is predetermined by prior causes and there is no room for freedom of choice or chance.. It tells us that the universe is rational since absolute knowledge of a situation could reveal its future.

 

 Forms of determinism

Psychological determinism: maintains that man always acts in his own interest and for his own benefit.

Biological determinism: tells us that human instincts and behaviors are defined by the nature of our genetics.

Cultural determinism: explains that culture determines the actions that people perform.

Logical determinism: states that the truth value of any proposition is timeless.

Epistemic determinism: maintains that in the case of knowing any future event in advance, it must inevitably occur.

Causal determinism: holds that all events are the result of preconditions and the laws of nature. Causal determinism holds that all events are the result of preconditions and the laws of nature. That is, everything that happens in the universe is predetermined by prior causes and there is no room for freedom of choice or chance.

 

Main representatives of determinism

 

Gottfried Leibniz: German philosopher, mathematician, and politician who wrote "The Principle of Sufficient Reason," a work considered the root of philosophical determinism.

Pierre-Simon Laplace: known as the Marquis de Laplace, he was a French astronomer, physicist, and mathematician who worked on classical Newtonian mechanics and introduced determinism into science using the scientific method.

Friedrich Ratze: German geographer, exponent of geographical determinism in the 19th century.

Paul Edwards: great Austrian-American moral philosopher.

Sam Harris: American-born philosopher and one of the most influential leading thinkers alive.