Works.

(Published in Vortex 2001)

Title: Skepticism- The Search for Truth

Author: Andrew Gan

Class: 2S03B, Raffles Junior College

Word Count: 657

These ultimate springs and principles are totally shut up from human curiosity and enquiry. Elasticity, gravity, cohesion of parts, communication of motion by impulse [sic]; these are probably the ultimate causes and principles which we shall ever discover in nature.

- David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Apart from their much-publicised architecture and reliance on a bevy of hedonistic deities, the ancient Greeks had also left a legacy of philosophy behind them. Recalling their alleged obsession with elemental gold and silver, it was no wonder the forays of science and philosophy often intertwined- often creating surprising results. In particular, a school of thought with dubious implications emerged from that civilization- skepticism. It was an alternative to the established method of scientific inquiry and was to have some impact later on.

Hinduism was an early influence on skepticism. Sextus Empiricus visited the far reaches of the empire of Alexander the Great, and was inspired by the Indian ascetics’ indifference to all corporeal matter. He went on to define skepticism as the rejection of observations and deductions to suspend judgement about all things. In other words, I cannot claim that any statement is true. Of course, I may say,“This precipitate is green”, but since I cannot adequately prove that it is green under all circumstances, and to all perceptions, I cannot say with all certainty that, that is true. Similarly, the statement, “The gas released from the test-tube is chlorine” is based on certain assumptions, e.g. that the putrid smell implies presence of chlorine (and so on) which cannot be proven conclusively. Furthermore, one also assumes that the use of logic to lead from one deduction to another is valid- when it is impossible to prove that logic holds true (without resorting to circular reasoning- that “logic is logical”). This type of thinking was dangerous, and threatened to undermine society.

Skepticism ran contrary to the spirit of the age, which, pioneered by heavyweights such as Aristotle and Plato, leant on two further schools of thought: empiricism, which relied on sensory perception (i.e. empirical observations), and rationalism, which relied on logical reasoning. These were associated with dogmatism- the intractable notion that certain concepts hold true for all time- e.g. logic, one’s senses, and divine truths. It would have been disastrous if the skeptics had taken a serious hold on civilization. As it were, they were largely ignored as yet another radical group. Otherwise, the progress of scientific discovery could have been halted in its steps, since basic laws of nature could not be proven correct.

Later, in the Renaissance period, Europe picked up what was left of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, and skepticism became fashionable- for a while, at least. It became the “in” thing to hold public debates between Reformers such as Calvin and Martin Luther- and established Church authorities. The reformers would use the doctrine of skepticism to prove that the Catholic Church had no proof of divine power vested in them, eliciting cheers from the townsfolk who felt they had been cheated by the Church’s obligatory tithing all along. The reformers would then go on to promote their own style of religion. Only later did the Church realize that using skepticism, they could just as easily demolish the theology of the Reformers. Such was the power of skepticism in history.

Eventually, an uneasy compromise between the demands of various philosophies in science arose. It is now accepted that scientific theories are “right until proven wrong”, and are used more as versatile models to solve problems than as immutable rules. The concept of memes- bytes of knowledge- is threatening to result in a paradigm shift, as memes are no longer judged on their accuracy or evidence supporting, but on how successful they are in being transmitted from one individual to another. As such, truth is no longer adamant, but knowledge exists for knowledge’s sake. Then again, one cannot trust the truth in that last statement.  

References:

1) Anthony O'Hear's An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, Oxford University Press, 1989

2) What is science?- Some viewpoints from the perspective of the theory of science by Sune Nordwall 
http://hem.passagen.se/thebee/SCIENCE/Science.htm

3) Epistemology, introduction by F. Heylighen, Principia Cybernetica
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/EPISTEMI.html

4) Ancient Skepticism by Leo Groarke , First published: November 4, 1997
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-ancient/

5) The Internet Encyclopedia to Philosophy
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/

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