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Skepticism, . - Coggle Diagram
Skepticism
Philosophical Responses
Common Sense
A direct, defiant rebuttal using common sense.
The skeptic's conclusion contradicts a premise that is more certain than any complex philosophical argument.
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Hilary Putnam's Response
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Semantic externalism is the view that the meaning of our words is not determined solely by what's inside our heads but by our causal and historical connection to the world.
David Chalmers' Response
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Even if I am a BIV, my experiences are not random; they are caused by something
Knowledge First
Reject the entire framework that makes skepticism a pressing problem. Don't try to build knowledge from the ground up.
Knowledge is a fundamental, unanalyzable mental state. It is not something to be built from belief and justification; it is the starting point.
Justification and belief are understood in terms of knowledge, not the other way around.
Historical Roots
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Pyrrhonian Skepticism
Claim
We should hold off on making judgments about everything, even the idea that we can't know anything.
Idea
For every argument, an equally persuasive counter-argument can be made
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Goal
follows naturally from suspending judgment, not from a dogmatic assertion of ignorance.
Modern Formulations
The Brain in a Vat
Thought Experiment
You are a brain, removed from your body, kept alive in a vat, and fed electrical impulses by a supercomputer to simulate a perfect virtual reality. All your experiences are identical to what they would be if you were living a normal life.
Conclusion
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Therefore, you cannot know anything about the "real" external world.
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