SKEPTICISM – The Encyclopedia of Philosophy SKEPTICISM – RICHARD
H. POPKIN Verbete da “The Encyclopedia of Philosophy” – Paul
Edward, Editor in Chief. vol VII. Collier Macmillan Publishers,
London. SKEPTICISM, as a critical philosophical attitude,
questions the reliability of the knowledge claims raised by
philosophers and others. Originally the Creek term skeptikos
meant "inquirers." Philosophical skeptics have been engaged in
inquiry into alleged human achievements in different fields lo
see if any knowledge has been or could be gained by them. They
have questioned whether any-necessary or indubitable information
can actually be gained about the real nature of things. Skeptics
have organized their questioning into systematic sets of
arguments aimed at raising doubts. Extreme skepticism questions
all knowledge claims that go beyond immediate experience, except
perhaps those of logic and mathematics. A limited or mitigated
skepticism in different degrees questions particular types of
knowledge claims made by