In Western philosophy

Skepticism as a Theory of Knowledge

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction

In Western philosophy, skepticism is the stance of doubting the claims of knowledge that are set in various areas. Skeptics often challenge the reliability and the adequacy of the claims by probing the principles upon which they are based or what they aim at establishing. Skepticism questions if the claims made are alleged, necessarily true, and indubitable and also challenges the purported reasonable grounds of conventional assumptions. Skepticism comes from the word skeptikos which is Greek for inquirer; a person who is always unsatisfied and is ever looking for the truth (Fernández, & Morris, 2018). Skeptics developed around the various disciplines including metaphysics, ethics, medicine that people claimed to have knowledge about. This text discusses the reliability of memory, perceptions, introspection, and reasoning as sources of knowledge. The essay also answers the question of if we agree the sources are mistaken, then we are agreeing with the notion that we can sometimes be mistaken.

Reliability of Memory

Memory refers to the process employed in collecting information, encoding it for meaning, and retrieving the specific information when we need it. Whenever we are asked questions, memory is often our primary source of knowledge. It is only when our memory fails that we turn to alternative sources like the internet and encyclopedias (Rodgers, Mubako, & Hall, 2017). Notably, memory is not the main source of knowledge as we always refer to reason and logic before using our memory to modify what we find. Memory however has an influence on all that we learn because we tend to use it to make judgment about past experiences.

Although in epistemology the human memory has always been deemed a source of knowledge, its reliability has been continually questioned. The human memory is notoriously unreliable particularly with regard to details. Notably, it has always been questioned whether what we remember actually happened. Our memory is not always correct. Sometimes we remember some things then it turns out they were not so. We are unsure; we simply do not know. For instance, scientists have reported that when we prompt an eyewitness to remember details about what they saw in a road accident, the witness is most likely to provide details that are false. Even in our day-to-day life, it is impossible to remember each tiny detail about what we saw. Our memories would be rather incomplete information would not be running through them, So our brain fills itself with as many details as it can and borrows from imagination and other memories to build something that is close to a complete picture.

Reliability of Perceptions

Perception refers to the ability to hear or see or become aware bout something through the use of senses. Perception is based on how we use the five senses namely touch, hearing, seeing, tasting, and feeling. This philosophy is about the nature of perceptions and the way they relate with beliefs about knowledge about the world. Perception as a source of knowledge justifies the true beliefs which we form about the things surrounding us (Williams, 2017). Simply because perception is a source of knowledge does not imply that the concept can be explained without referencing the concept of perception.

People maintain that although perception is reliable, it is not perfect. If knowledge is justified as a true belief, then perception is certainly a reliable source of information. Perception after all justifies true beliefs regarding the world beyond. Generally, what we perceive is objective to reality. Although human perception is often stable and consistent, evaluating its reliability is difficult. For instance, we say a circle is red because there is something about the circle that makes it red. It has been said that the reliability of perception is threatened if what we see is influenced by what we expect or know.

Reliability of Reasoning

Reasoning is the power of our minds to understand, think, and form judgments logically as a way of acquiring information. People become developed and modern through the way they approach matters by reasoning logically. Reason is deemed the most reliable source of reason as it is based upon logical evidence as the source of knowledge. Perception however misleads a person into believing something which is not necessarily true. To gauge reason, we weigh claims by probing the trustworthiness of people. For instance, if a person is reasonable, we are more inclined to find the person reliable. We accept a claim more readily if it is reasonable. Reason drives us to search for exceptions and patterns that lead us to create even more predictions and models about various disciplines. Other ways of knowing such as intuitions slowly originate from reason. Despite all the strengths of reason, we cannot ignore its limitation. Sometimes collective reasoning can lead us into hiding the truth.

Reliability of Introspection

Introspection is a contemporary concept in philosophy referring to learning as a means of knowing about your own current or recently past mental processes and mental state, In epistemology, introspective knowledge is often deemed partly secure and even immune to skepticism of doubt. Further, introspection is more direct and immediate than sensory knowledge (perception). These features have contributed to introspection being cited as a foundation or ground for other kinds of knowledge.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, by accepting that sources of information can be wrong, we are agreeing that sometimes we can be mistaken. From the above discussions, it is vivid that some sources of knowledge have been deemed more reliable than others. The human memory is notoriously unreliable particularly with regard to details. . Our memory is not always correct. Sometimes we remember some things then it turns out they were not so. People maintain that although perception is reliable, it is not perfect. Reason is deemed the most reliable source of reason but it also misleads a person into believing something which is not necessarily true. Introspective knowledge is often deemed partly secure and even immune to skepticism of doubt.

References

Fernández, G., & Morris, R. G. (2018). Memory, novelty and prior knowledge. Trends in Neurosciences, 41(10), 654-659.

Rodgers, W., Mubako, G. N., & Hall, L. (2017). Knowledge management: The effect of knowledge transfer on professional skepticism in audit engagement planning. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, 564-574.

Williams, M. (2017). Skepticism. The Blackwell guide to epistemology, 33-69.