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Single Idea 4708
[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 1. Scepticism
]
Full Idea
Kant believed he had given a decisive answer to traditional scepticism, since we can no longer be mistaken about objects, but his critics say he is a sceptic, because he relinquishes our grasp of independent things.
Gist of Idea
Kant thought he had refuted scepticism, but his critics say he is a sceptic, for rejecting reality
Source
comment on Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781]) by Paul O'Grady - Relativism Ch.3
Book Ref
O'Grady,Paul: 'Relativism' [Acumen 2002], p.54
A Reaction
A simple issue to raise about the man, my first reaction being that he is a sceptic. He says the 'noumenon' (true reality) is unknowable, but I say we can meaningfully speculate and theorise about it.
The
33 ideas
with the same theme
[general doubts about the possibility of knowledge]:
411
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If we succeed in speaking the truth, we cannot know we have done it
[Xenophanes]
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1545
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Protagoras was the first to claim that there are two contradictory arguments about everything
[Protagoras, by Diog. Laertius]
|
578
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Cratylus decided speech was hopeless, and his only expression was the movement of a finger
[Cratylus, by Aristotle]
|
577
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Democritus says there is either no truth, or it is concealed from us
[Democritus, by Aristotle]
|
20895
|
We actually know nothing, and opinions are mere flux
[Democritus]
|
1528
|
We in fact know nothing, but we each restructure our reality with beliefs
[Democritus]
|
492
|
It is obviously impossible to understand the reality of each thing
[Democritus]
|
515
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We know nothing in reality; for truth lies in an abyss
[Democritus]
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13792
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There can't be any knowledge if things are constantly changing
[Plato]
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3061
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Anaxarchus said that he was not even sure that he knew nothing
[Anaxarchus, by Diog. Laertius]
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6593
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The Pyrrhonians attacked the dogmas of professors, not ordinary people
[Pyrrho, by Fogelin]
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4549
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Epicurus denied knowledge in order to retain morality or hedonism as the highest values
[Nietzsche on Epicurus]
|
1870
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The basis of scepticism is the claim that every proposition has an equal opposing proposition
[Sext.Empiricus]
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1819
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Scepticism has two dogmas: that nothing is definable, and every argument has an opposite argument
[Diog. Laertius]
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6260
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Sceptics say there is truth, but no means of making or testing lasting judgements
[Montaigne]
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6347
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Descartes can't begin again, because sceptics doubt cognitive processes as well as beliefs
[Pollock/Cruz on Descartes]
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2251
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Even if my body and objects are imaginary, there may be simpler things which are true
[Descartes]
|
12949
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Light takes time to reach us, so objects we see may now not exist
[Leibniz]
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2238
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Reason can never show that experiences are connected to external objects
[Hume]
|
2242
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Mitigated scepticism draws attention to the limitations of human reason, and encourages modesty
[Hume]
|
4708
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Kant thought he had refuted scepticism, but his critics say he is a sceptic, for rejecting reality
[O'Grady on Kant]
|
14872
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Our knowledge is illogical, because it rests on false identities between things
[Nietzsche]
|
14879
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The most extreme scepticism is when you even give up logic
[Nietzsche]
|
6591
|
Doubts can't exist if they are inexpressible or unanswerable
[Wittgenstein]
|
8593
|
Maybe billions of changeless years have elapsed since my last meal
[Shoemaker]
|
13314
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Protagoras says arguments on both sides are always equal
[Kim, by Seneca]
|
530
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There are two contradictory arguments about everything
[Kim]
|
8722
|
No one knows anything, and no one is ever justified or reasonable
[Unger]
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7413
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Without confidence in our beliefs, how should we actually live?
[Tuck]
|
3594
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Scepticism just reveals our limited ability to explain things
[Williams,M]
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6071
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Scepticism about reality is possible because existence isn't part of appearances
[McGinn]
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19501
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We assess error against background knowledge, but that is just what radical scepticism challenges
[Pritchard,D]
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12401
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A toper who spies in the distance...
[Sommers,W]
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