Prompt: What are the best arguments against skepticism? Are you persuaded by them? Are the rationalist and empiricist positions any better? Why or why not?
Part2: Comment student post: No less than 100 words
You may or may not ever heard someone call you being skeptical, or find yourself ever in a situation where you actually HAVE to be skeptical. As humans we have a tendency to whenever something doesn't feel right or we have that sort of "gut feeling", we feel skeptical: an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object. To be skeptic about something is to always needing to ask questions, collect evidence, and see proof before they accept something as true. The best argument of Skepticism has to be Cartesian Skepticism. Descartes explains that a particular person is justified in beliving something something to be true only if you are certain of it. For example, if you try someone's cooking and they tell you that it's the best and some people will respond "I'll be the judge of that" or they'll start to really wonder if their cooking is actually good enough. Descartes also mentioned that our sense can deceive us (551). Once you arrive and see the foof, sometimes even the food might look like something you're not used too, the smell might be a little too strong for you because you're just not used to it: so what is the normal reaction to this type of situation? You will become skeptical in trying it, or you may even decide that in order to really know if it's the best cooking, you're willing to try it. Sense experience cannot be a source of knowledge. Another example couple be of a pet dog. If you look at a Chihuahua for instants, you probably already know where I'm going with this but it's the easiest analogy I can think of. It may feel soft, look adorable, but as soon as you want to feel it and touch it, some dogs will just start to pop off and bite you and then now you're stuck with be skeptical of this little dog. again: Sense experience cannot be a source of knowledge.
Sources:
Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skepticism
Schick, Theodore, and Lewis Vaughn. 2010. Doing philosophy: an introduction through thought experiments. New York: McGraw-Hill.
General info of the texbook required:
Schick, Theodore, Vaughn, Lewis, Doing Philosophy: An Introduction Through Thought Experiments, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, Copyright Year: 2013, ISBN: 9780078038259.
Note: An earlier or later edition of the textbook is also acceptable for this course.