forum for week of 26 September: skepticism

I have to agree in concept with the above post. There certainly is merit to the idea that even our most steadfastly held ideas may not stand on solid epistemological ground,which can be startling to individuals not used to philosophical skepiticism. In everyday life, however, even the most fastidious skeptic must set aside there beliefs simply in order to live. Like Hume said,you have to believe the world is essentially as it appears to be when you exit the classroom.

Does this mean that the average person is in fact an unknowing skeptic? Hard to say. Skepticism definately holds inate appeal, but if you choose to judge an individual by their actions and not their stated beliefs, then you would be hard pressed to find any skeptics at all even amongst those that write articles extolling its virtues.