Skepticism (Skeptikismos) — A philosophical attitude of systematic doubt about the possibility of knowledge. Radical skepticism (Pyrrho of Elis) suspends judgment on all questions, since appearances diverge and no criterion of truth is justifiable. Moderate skepticism (New Academy) admits degrees of plausibility. Descartes uses skeptical doubt methodically to find an indubitable certainty: the cogito. Contemporary skepticism is a central debate in analytic epistemology.
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