Skepticism

A. Introduction and Background The urgency of irreversible climate change effects requires mitigation and adaptation tools. The poor minorities of society are expected to be more severely impacted by the effects of climate change; generally, these minorities are less educated and geographically displaced in already problematic and polluted areas. These groups may have less capacity to be prepared and to respond to hazards created by extreme weather events and—even less, to be able to recover…

John Locke proposed the fundamental principle of empiricism, all of our knowledge and ideas arise from experience. Locke was a British philosopher who pioneered ideas such as the empiricism which now define some leading ideals of psychology and philosophy. Against the claims of other well known philosophers, Locke insisted that neither the speculative principles of logic and metaphysics nor the practical principles of morality are inscribed on our minds from birth. Such propositions do not in…

I can only imagine the caustic skepticism that enveloped him when he discovered the concept, views that almost certainly became even more scathing with its increased popularity. His views were most probably closely aligned with the contradictory findings by the program’s critics in various…

courageously for their king. As the play progresses and Banquo uses his wisdom and is upheld as a foil to Macbeth who falls prey to temptation. Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy shows how he is more rational than Macbeth is. Furthermore, his skepticism to the witches’ prophecy and his decision to let fate take its course shows his wisdom and resilience to evil. Moreover, Banquo’s righteousness and selfless qualities as a person make him nobler than Macbeth, as indicated in the…

Personal activity trackers are becoming a very popular item not only amongst the athletic and physically fit, but with many people interested in tracking their daily physical activity. Although wearable fitness trackers are not necessarily new technology, athletes have long made use of similar products, the new lightweight, wristband hybrid was made available to consumers for less than a decade. As the popularity of these products continues to grow, developers and producers continue to improve…

superstitions by the power of religion because superstitions and vampirism are “a dark mutation of Christian forms” (111). On the other hand, Stephen Purcell in his article “Not Wholly Communion: Skepticism and the Instrumentalization of Religion in Stoker’s Dracula” claims that the novel presents skepticism. He demonstrates that the characters are not believers of God and they only use the religious symbols to defeat the vampire, yet not as means of sacrifice like they are used in the…

When it comes to our emotions, how strong is a feeling of disgust? Is it strong enough to influence our considered moral judgments or is it just an untrustworthy emotion? In Chapter 5 of the book, Yuck!, the author, Daniel Kelly, addresses this question and defends the skeptical view of moral disgust against a moral disgust advocate’s view. Moral disgust advocates believe that disgust should influence our considered moral judgments, but moral disgust skeptics say it should not. By discussing the…

One of the few new characters in the novel is the psychiatrist. The addition of a psychiatrist is entirely superfluous and is added bulk to the movie, serving only to explain Luhrmann’s addendum to the story of Nick becoming an alcoholic in wake of Gatsby’s tragic death. Nick’s plunge into alcoholism is plausible and perhaps even expected and thus fits seamlessly with the pace and narration of the film, however, the use of the psychiatrist to explain and expand on this development is entirely…

Both Nietzsche and Marx challenge the dominant ideas in their societies. For Nietzsche, the dominate idea was Christian morality, and for Marx, capitalistic ideology. Two people differentiate in their ways of argument and intentions of arguments. By comparing the nobles and everyone else and explaining bad conscience, meaning the feeling of duty and obligation, as an evolved inwards punishment from which people enjoy themselves, Nietzsche points out the petty past of the widely embraced…

Throughout history, philosophers have been known to use skepticism as a method to justify their theories of existence and knowledge. Such philosophers like Descartes who wrote in his meditations that by doubting everything one is able to establish a foundation based upon certainty. However, others philosophers like G.E Moore and Barry Stroud reject Descartes and continue on to explain their foundations and ideas on the connection between knowledge and existence. Certainty and The Problem of the…