Skepticism

Philosophical skepticism is the view that some or all knowledge is impossible. A skeptic questions the possibility of knowledge—particularly justification—in some domain, while a global skeptic rejects the possibility of knowledge in general. Skepticism implies unwillingness to believe without conclusive evidence. An example of skepticism that acknowledges the lack of absolute certainty can be that there is no solid evidence that Bigfoot does or does not exist (perhaps since the very lore of Bigfoot is that they hide away from humans), and that such a creature's existence is therefore very unlikely and we cannot be justified in believing a particular way. Noticeably, skepticism is usually considered to be an epistemological problem, and not a metaphysical one (since skeptics do not claim to know one way or another!). One of the most popular forms of skepticism is that of solipsism (separate entry)- or the belief that we cannot justify the existence of external things in the world (all we know is that we personally exist). Skepticism can be used either as a conclusion or as a starting point. If used as a conclusion, then this would be what the typical skeptic looks like - denying X, Y, and Z, and not thinking that there is truly enough evidence for a particular thing. On the other hand, philosophers such as Descartes have used skepticism as a starting point and - for example - began with the convincing arguments for solipsism and then moved to a more objective stance based off this skepticism to form a worldview that does, in the end, acknowledge the existence of other things based off of a good God.