| 释义 |
skepticism
skep·ti·cism also scep·ti·cism S0130900 (skĕp′tĭ-sĭz′əm)n.1. A doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind; dubiety. See Synonyms at uncertainty.2. Philosophy a. The ancient school of Pyrrho of Elis that stressed the uncertainty of our beliefs in order to oppose dogmatism.b. The doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible, either in a particular domain or in general.c. A methodology based on an assumption of doubt with the aim of acquiring approximate or relative certainty.3. Doubt or disbelief of religious tenets.skep•ti•cism or scep•ti•cism (ˈskɛp təˌsɪz əm)
n. 1. skeptical attitude or temper. 2. doubt or unbelief regarding religion. 3. (cap.) the doctrines or opinions of philosophical Skeptics. [1640–50] skepticism, scepticisma personal disposition toward doubt or incredulity of facts, persons, or institutions. See also 312. PHILOSOPHY. — skeptic, n., adj. — skeptical, adj.See also: Attitudes
the doctrines or opinions of philosophical Skeptics, especially the doctrine that a true knowledge of things is impossible or that all knowledge is uncertain. Cf. Pyrrhonism. — Skeptic, Sceptic, n.See also: PhilosophySkepticism doubting Thomas A skeptic, a doubter or disbeliever; one who believes only on the basis of firsthand proof or physical evidence. The original doubting Thomas was the apostle Thomas, who refused to believe that Christ had risen from the dead after His crucifixion until he saw Him for himself. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. (John 20:24-25) from Missouri Skeptical, doubting, suspicious; unwilling to accept something as true without proof. Original use of the phrase I’m from Missouri; you’ve got to show me is generally attributed to Congressman Willard D. Vandiver of Missouri in a speech delivered to the Five O’Clock Club of Philadelphia in 1899. However, others have claimed that the expression was commonly known in parts of the country long before the Congressman popularized it by employing it in this speech. tell it to the marines An expression of disbelief or skepticism, said in response to a tall tale, a fish story, or any farfetched account. This originally British expression dates from the early 19th century. There are two popular explanations for its origin, one reflecting positively, the other negatively, upon the British Royal Marines. The more involved story is that Charles II said in response to a naval officer’s claim that he had seen flying fish, “Go, tell that to the Marines.” When accused of insulting the reputation of the Marines, Charles II responded that no slur was intended. To the contrary, he claimed that he would believe the story if the well-traveled and experienced Marines believed it. The second explanation, simple and more plausible, is that the Marines were proverbially gullible and would swallow any yarn. An analogous American slang expression is tell it to Sweeney. with a grain of salt With skepticism; with reservations. This expression is based on the idea that a pinch of salt may make palatable something otherwise hard to swallow. Furthermore, Pompey (106-48 B.C.), a member of the first Roman triumvirate, once advocated the use of a grain of salt as an antidote against poison. One source suggests that the minuscule grain of salt may represent the amount of truth in a given statement, assurance, or other matter which has been accepted “with a grain of salt.” The expression occurs in many western European languages, usually in its Latin form, cum grano salis. Thesaurus| Noun | 1. |  skepticism - doubt about the truth of something disbelief, incredulity, mental rejectiondoubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, incertitude, uncertainty - the state of being unsure of something | | 2. |  skepticism - the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledgescepticism, agnosticismunbelief, disbelief - a rejection of belief |
skepticism also scepticism
nounA lack of conviction or certainty:doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, incertitude, mistrust, question, suspicion, uncertainty, wonder.Translationsskepticism
skepticism (skĕp`tĭsĭzəm) [Gr.,=to reflect], philosophic position holding that the possibility of knowledge is limited either because of the limitations of the mind or because of the inaccessibility of its object. It is more loosely used to denote any questioning attitude. Extreme skepticism holds that no knowledge is possible, but this is logically untenable since the statement contradicts itself. The first important skeptical view was held by DemocritusDemocritus
, c.460–c.370 B.C., Greek philosopher of Abdera; pupil of Leucippus. His theory of the nature of the physical world was the most radical and scientific attempted up to his time.
..... Click the link for more information. , who saw sense perception as no certain guide to objective reality. The SophistsSophists
, originally, itinerant teachers in Greece (5th cent. B.C.) who provided education through lectures and in return received fees from their audiences. The term was given as a mark of respect.
..... Click the link for more information. were the earliest group of skeptics. ProtagorasProtagoras
, c.490–c.421 B.C., Greek philosopher of Abdera, one of the more distinguished Sophists. He taught for a time in Athens, where he was a friend of Pericles and knew Socrates, but was forced to flee because of his professed agnosticism.
..... Click the link for more information. taught the relativity of knowledge, and GorgiasGorgias
, c.485–c.380 B.C., Greek Sophist. From his native city, Leontini, Sicily, he was sent as an ambassador to Athens, where he settled to teach and practice rhetoric.
..... Click the link for more information. held that either nothing could be known, or if anything were known, it could not be communicated. PyrrhoPyrrho
, c.360–270 B.C., Greek philosopher, a native of Elis, regarded as the father of skepticism. After accompanying Alexander the Great to Asia, he enjoyed great respect at Elis and Athens. His doctrines were preserved by his disciple, Timon of Phlius, in satires.
..... Click the link for more information. , regarded as the father of skepticism, later held a similarly extreme position, seeing reality as inaccessible. ArcesilausArcesilaus
, c.316–c.241 B.C., Greek philosopher of Pitane in Aeolis. He was the principal figure of the Middle Academy. Despite his position in the Academy, his teachings diverged from Platonic doctrine.
..... Click the link for more information. taught that certitude is impossible and only probable knowledge is attainable. In the Renaissance, skepticism is seen in the writings of Michel de MontaigneMontaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de
, 1533–92, French essayist. Montaigne was one of the greatest masters of the essay as a literary form. Born at the Château of Montaigne in Périgord, he was the son of a rich Catholic landowner and a mother of Spanish
..... Click the link for more information. , Pierre CharronCharron, Pierre
, 1541–1603, French Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher. He was an important contributor to 17th-century theological thought, combining an individual form of skepticism with a strict adherence to Catholicism based on the emphasis of the importance of
..... Click the link for more information. , and Blaise PascalPascal, Blaise
, 1623–62, French scientist and religious philosopher. Studying under the direction of his father, a civil servant, Pascal showed great precocity, especially in mathematics and science.
..... Click the link for more information. . For René DescartesDescartes, René
, Lat. Renatus Cartesius, 1596–1650, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, b. La Haye. Descartes' methodology was a major influence in the transition from medieval science and philosophy to the modern era.
..... Click the link for more information. skepticism was a methodology that allowed him to arrive at certain incontrovertible truths. At the end of the 17th cent., Pierre BayleBayle, Pierre
, 1647–1706, French philosopher. Born a Huguenot, he converted to Roman Catholicism and then returned to Protestantism. To avoid French intolerance of Protestants, he moved in 1681 to Rotterdam, where he lived for most of the rest of his life.
..... Click the link for more information. skeptically challenged philosophical and theological theories. David HumeHume, David
, 1711–76, Scottish philosopher and historian. Educated at Edinburgh, he lived (1734–37) in France, where he finished his first philosophical work, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40).
..... Click the link for more information. , a leading modern skeptic, challenged established assumptions about the self, substance, and causality. The skeptical aspect of Immanuel Kant's philosophy is exemplified by his agnosticismagnosticism
, form of skepticism that holds that the existence of God cannot be logically proved or disproved. Among prominent agnostics have been Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and T. H. Huxley (who coined the word agnostic in 1869).
..... Click the link for more information. ; his antinomies of reason demonstrate that certain problems are insoluble by reason. To some degree skepticism manifests itself in the scientific method, which demands that all things assumed as facts be questioned. But the positivism of many scientists, whether latent or open, is incompatible with skepticism, for it accepts without question the assumption that material effect is impossible without material cause. Bibliography See R. H. Popkin, The History of Skepticism from Erasmus to Descartes (rev. ed. 1968); C. L. Stough, Greek Skepticism (1969); M. Burnyeat, ed., The Skeptical Tradition (1983); B. Stroud, The Significance of Philosophical Skepticism (1984). Skepticism a philosophical position that doubts the existence of any reliable criterion of truth. Agnosticism is an extreme form of skepticism, centering on the assertions that nothing in our knowledge corresponds to reality and that genuine knowledge is unattainable in principle. By stressing the relativity of human knowledge, skepticism played a positive role in the struggle against various forms of dogmatism and in the formulation of a number of the problems of the dialectic of knowledge, although it proved unable to solve them. Skepticism revealed the incomplete, imperfect character of our knowledge and its link with the historical conditions surrounding cognition. However, by transforming this relativity into an absolute, skepticism came to doubt the possibility of verifiable, objective knowledge in general. Proclaiming its denial in principle of any final or definitive judgments, skepticism was, at the same time, constantly obliged to accept certain judgments in practice. The historical role of skepticism in ideological struggles and society has depended on the object of its criticism and the target of its questioning. In ancient Greek philosophy skepticism was represented by a school that went through three phases of development: early skepticism, which was founded by Pyrrho; the skepticism that took shape at Plato’s Academy under Arcesilaus and Carneades; and late skepticism, represented by Aenesidimus, Agrippa, and Sextus Empiricus. To demonstrate the equal validity of contradictory assertions and the principle of suspending judgment, the classical skeptics used a number of major lines of argument (tropoi), emphasizing the futility of finding a criterion for truth in the realms of sensory knowledge and abstract thought, the disparity between the moral standards of different peoples, and the diversity of religious faiths; expounding how various theories refute each other; and developing the idea that every truth is proved by another, which leads to a vicious circle, to arbitrarily chosen axioms, or to infinite regression. The classical skeptics also used arguments demonstrating that the existence of causality cannot be proved. However, the necessity of acting on one’s decisions forced the classical skeptics to admit that although there may not be a criterion of truth, there is a criterion for practical conduct, which should be based on “rational probability” (Arcesilaus). Classical skepticism urged people to follow the lead of their senses and feelings (to eat when hungry, for example), to follow the laws and customs of their country, and to engage in an occupation (including scholarship). Abandoning a position that tended to distrust sensory perception and thinking, classical skepticism showed a preference for knowledge based on the senses. Thus, classical skepticism was close to empiricism and experimental science. Indeed, its last representatives—Menodatus, Theodas, Sextus Empiricus, and Saturninus—were engaged in the experimental science of medicine. In the 16th through 18th centuries the term “skepticism” referred to any criticism of religion and dogmatic metaphysics and became a synonym for “freethinking.” Skepticism’s point of departure was rebellion against all “recognized” authority and against the dogmatism of accepted opinions, a call for freedom of thought, and the demand that nothing be accepted on faith. Skeptical ideas were most brilliantly and completely expressed in the works of French thinkers such as Montaigne and P. Bayle. Skepticism provided a foundation for the development of the philosophies of Gassendi, Descartes, Voltaire, and Diderot. Skepticism took another form in the subjective idealist philosophy of Hume, who questioned the existence of an objective world. In the subsequent development of bourgeois philosophy, agnosticism was more important than skepticism, which became a minor tendency (for example, H. Vaihinger’s philosophy of fictions). REFERENCESRichter, R. Skeptitsizm ν filosofii, vol. 1. St. Petersburg, 1910. (Translated from German.)
Shpet, G. G. Skeptik i ego dusha. Moscow, 1919.
Boguslavskii, V. M. U istokov frantsuzskogo ateizma i materializma. Moscow, 1964.
Coedeckemeyer, A. Die Geschichte des Griechischen Skeptizismus. Leipzig, 1905.
Patrick, M. M. The Greek Sceptics. New York, 1929.
Robin, L. Pyrrhon et le scepticisme grec. Paris, 1944.
Bevan, E. R. Stoics and Sceptics. New York [1959].
Brochard, V. Les Sceptiques grecs. Paris, 1887.
Stough, C. L. Greek Skepticism. Berkeley, Calif., 1969.
Rodhe, S. E. Zweifel und Erkenntnis: Über das Problem des Skeptizismus und den Begriff des Absoluten. Lund-Leipzig [1945].
Smith, T. G. Moralische Skepsis. Freiburg, 1970.V. M. BOGUSLAVSKII [23–1498–] SkepticismSee also Cynicism, Pessimism.Skinniness (See THINNESS.)Bothwell, Sergeantbelieves in nothing. [Br. Lit.: Old Mortality]Dawes, Jabezmischievous brat ridicules Santa’s existence. [Am. Lit.: “The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus” in Rockwell]mushroomsymbol of suspicion. [Plant Symbolism: Flower Symbolica, 310]Naamanat first doubts efficacy of leprosy cure. [O.T.: II Kings 5:11–14]Thomas, St.wouldn’t believe Christ’s resurrection until he saw Him; hence, Doubting Thomas. [N.T.: John 20:24–25]Windermere, Ladydoesn’t believe husband’s “virtuous” generosity toward Mrs. Erlynne. [Br. Lit.: Lady Windermere’s Fan, Magill I, 488–490]Zachariasstruck dumb for doubting Gabriel’s birth annunciation. [N.T.: Luke 1:18–20]skepticism
Synonyms for skepticismnoun a lack of conviction or certaintySynonyms- doubt
- doubtfulness
- dubiety
- dubiousness
- incertitude
- mistrust
- question
- suspicion
- uncertainty
- wonder
Synonyms for skepticismnoun doubt about the truth of somethingSynonyms- disbelief
- incredulity
- mental rejection
Related Words- doubt
- doubtfulness
- dubiety
- dubiousness
- incertitude
- uncertainty
noun the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledgeSynonymsRelated Words |