PAPER NO. 68
RESPONSES TO POPULAR SKEPTICISM
- There are so many views.
R1: There are not many basic views, only two (all or only some is eternal).
R2: There are many degrees of rational consistency with which a basic view is held.
- It doesn’t matter anyway which view you hold. They are all the same.
R1: This may be true on a practical or psychological level, but even here only in the short run.
R2: If large-scale, long-term, differences in human lives are not important then nothing is important—including anything you say.
- Who is to say which view is right?
R1: It is not who is to say, but what is to say.
R2: Reason (the laws of thought in all of us) must be observed if we are to avoid talking nonsense.
- It is all a matter of interpretation.
R1: That is true, but philosophy does not end here—it begins here.
R2: Every interpretation must be tested for rational consistency.
- It is all relative.
R1: Yes, it is—to one’s own basic belief.
R2: Basic beliefs can be tested for meaning.
- I don’t know what I believe.
R1: We do have basic beliefs held more or less consciously.
R2: We can know our basic beliefs by looking at our actions.
- I’ll go with the flow (the simple, easy, what comes natural approach).
R: Ok. Go ahead. Perhaps we will meet again.
This paper was originally developed for an Introduction to Philosophy course.
