Local skepticism
{{short description|View that one cannot possess knowledge in some particular domain}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
Local skepticism is the view that one cannot possess knowledge in some particular domain. It contrasts with global skepticism (also known as absolute skepticism or universal skepticism), the view that one cannot know anything at all.
Examples of local skepticism
- Moral skepticism is the belief that moral knowledge is either nonexistent or unattainable.[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-moral/ Moral Skepticism], Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Metaphysical skepticism, often called external world skepticism, is the denial of metaphysical knowledge. This belief is generally said to follow from the argument that material knowledge can only be attained through our perception of the world, and that our senses which constitute that perception do not necessarily correspond with any actual state of affairs.[https://books.google.com/books?id=yOnLv3NlJlAC&dq=%22local+skepticism%22&pg=PA33 Metaepistemology and Skepticism], by Richard Fumerton, pp. 31-32 See also: subjective idealism.
- Theological skepticism it is the view that we cannot know for certain whether one or more deities exist. A theological skeptic may be an atheist, theist, or agnostic.[http://skepdic.com/skepticism.html Philosophical Skepticism] from [http://skepdic.com/ The Skeptic's Dictionary]
Notes
Further reading
- [http://philosophy.acadiau.ca/tl_files/sites/philosophy/resources/documents/Maitzen_ILS.pdf The Impossibility of Local Skepticism] by Stephen Maitzen -- a critique of the possibility of local skepticism
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070806100411/http://www.ling.rochester.edu/~feldman/philosophy243/12-skepticism.html Theory of Knowledge], notes by Richard Feldman, University of Rochester
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