The Refutation Of Skepticism Summary

Decent Essays
Dexter Sommerfeldt
Dr. Alexander
Phil 366
11 December 2015
Vogel on the Refutation of Skepticism In the essay “The Refutation of Skepticism,” we see author Jonathon Vogel attempt to deny any skeptic claims about the external world. In its most simple form, his argument claims that to deny skepticism would be the best explanation of the material world. For slight background information, skepticism is the epistemological view that we simple lack the ability to have knowledge of a material world; the reasoning for this will be described later. First, defining Vogel’s complex argument is a necessity, then I will be providing a critical analysis of his essay as well as provide potential objections. The beginning of his paper begins with briefly

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Theodicy and Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero Every day certain circumstances cause people throughout the world to face undeniable questions about God and his abilities. Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero takes viewers through the stories and theodicies of multiple people affected by the horrendous tragedy of 9/11, questioning God’s role in the evil that took place on that sorrowful day and the impact it made on their futures. In the film Kirk Varnedoe, Tim Lynston, and Dasha Rittenberg provide their input and opinions about God and the good or bad power he has on this earth, relating to the works of Holy the Firm, and Holy Terrors. In Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, Kirk Varnedoe, former Chief Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, offers insight…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Mistrust of Science” by Atul Gawande is a commencement address at the California Institute of Technology. Atul Gawande calls upon the institutes graduates to take a stance and defend the common misconceptions and myths about scientific issues concerning today’s society. The commencement’s main goal was to use a logical thought process to defend the scientific evidence against common misconception. For example, Atul Gawande says “They deploy false analogies and other logical fallacies… when scientists produce one level of certainty; the pseudoscientists insist they achieve another.” Atul claims that pseudoscientists deploy a poor sense of logical reasoning to mislead the public, which cannot be backed up by hard scientific evidence.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Book Review: Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance In the book Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance, co-written by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook, the authors attempt to highlight the story of Francisco Noguerol de Ulla. Noguerol, as they reference him throughout the book, was put on trial in Spain for bigamy. Although, he claimed in “good faith and truthful ignorance” that he did so unwittingly.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In chapter 5 of The Scholar Denied, they discuss Social Darwinism. This is an idea that was developed around the end of the 19th century. The book says “social darwinism sociologists argued that a hierarchy of races existed with superior races at the top, less superior ones in an intermediate position, and inferior ones locked at the bottom” (Morris: 115). This hierarchy cannot be altered and only through natural selection, the most desirable and superior of the races would survive. Park accepted the theory of social darwinism and according to him, white Europeans were on top and blacks were on the bottom.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Reasonable Religious Disagreements,” Richard Feldman posits that two reasonable peers cannot come to a reasonable disagreement. The premise of a “reasonable disagreement” has various conditions, in short being that the peers must be epistemic, and they must have shared all of their evidence pertaining to the argument. By this criteria, it is not plausible for two epistemic peers with access to the same body of evidence to ever reach reasonably different conclusions. However, a problem arises with the previously stated criteria when examining the point regarding full disclosure of evidence. When examining Feldman’s article from this perspective, it is possible that it may not be considered fully viable.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Growing Doubt Summary

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the article “Growing Doubt: a Scientist’s Experience of GMOs” in the Independent Science News Food Health and Agriculture Bioscience News, Jonathan Latham, a plant biologist, expresses in his experience Genetically Modified Organism’s quick transition from the lab to the industry, the high risks of Genetically Modified Organism plants, and the dangerous toxins that are placed inside Genetically Modified Organism plants. Jonathan Latham explains, in the beginning of his research he worked in the labs and assisted in created Genetically Modified Organism plants. to create a Genetically Modified Organisms plant they would add DNA from another organism to another organism. As a young scientist, Latham saw no reason to be concerned about the…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He covered creation all the way to the tower of Babel and fossils we find today. The radio host leaned back in his chair and said, “Well I didn’t hear any evidence for creation at all; so much for that!” Ken writes “Of course, what he meant was that he was not prepared to accept the evidence that I had…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The question expressed in this discussion is why, and to understand the answer to this we have to delve further into the conversation. In an effort to get to the root of Firestein’s point we should look into some key aspects. The points include ignorance, science, and dangers. Ignorance First, we see that ignorance is a prevalent issue with regards to the chapter.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief,” Clifford argues the immorality of believing without sufficient evidence. In most situations, Clifford’s point of view would be practical; if we wish to be true seekers of the truth, it would be unethical to ever believe in something without sufficient evidence. This is a valid statement, but there are exceptions to this idea which are dependent on the situation. When it comes to the type of evidence presented, a belief can be justified or found to be wrong. Clifford sets two questions we are to ask ourselves when it comes to believing things that aren’t proven with physical evidence, rather shown by testimony.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did Father Flynn commit the crime or not? That is the question all the readers are asking themselves in the play, Doubt: A Parable. Sister Aloysius accuses Father Flynn on many different occasions, affecting his mental stability. Based on the evidence in John Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is guilty because of Donald and Father Flynn’s suspicious behavior. Also, Father Flynn is guilty because of how defensive he is and he eventually resigns.…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Before introducing his suggestions, Postman tackles the question of why skepticism isn’t already taught in schools. He notes the importance of skepticism in the 18th century, calling it “the principal mindset associated with the Enlightenment” (159). So, why didn’t something…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Humans are hardwired to form opinions and defend beliefs even if they might not be true. The article, Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds by Elizabeth Kolbert argues that humans are miss-led by false information. The rush humans feel when they win an argument supporting their beliefs is a feeling unreplicated by anything else, even if they argue with incorrect information. The article also states that humans tend to make quick judgements without fully understanding a situation. Wide media usage, when information is often incorrect, could put society into a dangerous position.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    James and Pascal’s defences of faith in some of their most famous arguments, specifically Pascal’s, devalue faith by making faith selfish, providing an obvious out to faith, and making the decision of faith into a gamble, oddly, his devaluation of faith does not hurt his argument, it makes it easier to convince the skeptics. To prove that Pascal’s argument devalues faith and to understand why it doesn’t negatively affect his argument, it’s necessary to understand the whole argument. His argument can be split into quite a few premises. He starts with the possibility of God, which is the main idea of his argument. Basically, it’s possible that God does exists, and it’s also possible that God does not exist, something nearly everyone agrees on.…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is creationism science, pseudoscience, or non-science? Support your argument with an analysis of the distinction between science, pseudoscience, and non-science. Mainstream society is very familiar with the word “science” and that without a doubt science plays a detrimental role in our lives. However for many people there seems to be a discrepancy about the correct distinguishiment between science, pseudo-science and non-science. The aims of this essay are to establish the differences between science, pseudo-science and non-science, before then examining the appropriate categorization of “creationism science”.…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To some degree, human beings want certainty both in their understanding of the universe and in humanity’s ability to acquire knowledge on said universe. Many early ontological theories tried to demonstrate that the model proposed is absolutely certain by the provided logic and has no faults on which the system can be refuted. For example, in Anaximenes’ theory that all is air or Plato’s theory of the world of ideal forms, each philosopher proposed their system in the hope that they created a system that would last or would solve the question of the basis for existence for good. Similar attempts to establish a stable theory occured in epistemology. For instance, the main goal of Descartes’ radical scepticism was to find a foundation for epistemology…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays