Editing Skepticism (section)

== Definition and semantic field ==
''Skepticism'', also spelled ''scepticism'' (from the Greek {{lang|grc|σκέπτομαι}} {{transliteration|grc|skeptomai}}, to search, to think about or look for), refers to a doubting attitude toward [[knowledge]] claims.{{r|Greco2009}}<ref name="Popkin">{{cite web |last1=Popkin |first1=Richard H. |title=skepticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism |website=Britannica |access-date=23 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref> So if a person is skeptical of their government's claims about an ongoing war then the person has doubts that these claims are true. Or being skeptical that one's favorite hockey team will win the championship means that one is uncertain about the strength of their performance.<ref name="Greco2009"/> Skepticism about a claim implies that one does not [[Belief|believe]] the claim to be true. But it does not automatically follow that one should believe that the claim is false either. Instead, skeptics usually recommend a neutral attitude: beliefs about this matter should be suspended. In this regard, skepticism about a claim can be defined as the thesis that "the only justified attitude with respect to [this claim] is suspension of judgment".<ref name="Comesaña2001">{{cite web |last1=Comesaña |first1=Juan |last2=Klein |first2=Peter |title=Skepticism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism/ |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=24 August 2022 |date=2019}}</ref> It is often motivated by the impression that one cannot be certain about it. This is especially relevant when there is significant expert disagreement.<ref name="Blackburn2008">{{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Simon |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-954143-0 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199541430.001.0001/acref-9780199541430-e-2771|url-access=subscription |language=en |chapter=scepticism}}</ref> Skepticism is usually restricted to a claim or a field of inquiry. So religious and [[Moral skepticism|moral skeptics]] have a doubtful attitude about religious and moral doctrines. But some forms of philosophical skepticism, are wider in that they reject any form of knowledge.<ref name="Blackburn2008"/>

Some definitions, often inspired by [[ancient philosophy]], see skepticism not just as an attitude but as a way of life. This is based on the idea that maintaining the skeptical attitude of doubt toward most concerns in life is superior to living in dogmatic certainty, for example because such a skeptic has more [[happiness]] and [[Inner peace|peace of mind]] or because it is morally better.<ref name="Greco2009"/><ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web |last1=Vogt |first1=Katja |title=Ancient Skepticism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-ancient/ |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=30 August 2022 |date=2021}}
|2={{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Baron |title=The Mystery of Skepticism|editor-first1=Kevin|editor-last1=McCain|editor-first2=Ted|editor-last2=Poston|chapter=Skepticism as a Way of Life |year= 2018 |publisher=Brill|series=Brill Studies in Skepticism|volume=2 |pages=63–80 |isbn=978-90-04-39353-0 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004393530/BP000005.xml|chapter-url-access=subscription |language=en|doi=10.1163/9789004393530_006|s2cid=150356547 }} }}</ref> In [[contemporary philosophy]], on the other hand, skepticism is often understood neither as an attitude nor as a way of life but as a thesis: the thesis that knowledge does not exist.<ref name="Greco2009"/>

Skepticism is related to various terms. It is sometimes equated with [[agnosticism]] and [[relativism]].<ref name="MeinerSkeptizismus" /><ref name="NewtonFlew2021">{{cite web |first1=Antony Garrard  |last1=Newton Flew |title=agnosticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/agnosticism |website=Britannica |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Sankey2012">{{cite journal |last1=Sankey |first1=Howard |title=Scepticism, relativism and the argument from the criterion |journal=Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A |date=1 March 2012 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=182–190 |doi=10.1016/j.shpsa.2011.12.026 |bibcode=2012SHPSA..43..182S |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039368111001373|url-access=subscription |language=en |issn=0039-3681}}</ref> However, there are slight differences in meaning. Agnosticism is often understood more narrowly as skepticism about religious questions, in particular, about the [[Christian doctrine]].<ref name="NewtonFlew2021"/> Relativism does not deny the existence of knowledge or truth but holds that they are relative to a person and differ from person to person, for example, because they follow different cognitive norms.<ref name="Baghramian2020">{{cite web |last1=Baghramian |first1=Maria |last2=Carter |first2=J. Adam |title=Relativism: 4.4 Epistemic relativism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/#EpiRel |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=26 August 2022 |date=2022}}</ref> The opposite of skepticism is [[dogmatism]], which implies an attitude of certainty in the form of an unquestioning belief.<ref name="Laursen2018">{{cite book |first1=John Christian |last1=Laursen |title=New Dictionary of the History of Ideas |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/philosophy/philosophy-terms-and-concepts/skepticism |chapter=Skepticism|year=2018}}</ref> A similar contrast is often drawn in relation to blind faith and credulity.<ref name="Raynaud1981" />