Scepticism and the Possibility of Knowledge

by A.C. Grayling

Scepticism as a philosophical term is as old as the Greeks but has more recently been advanced by Montaigne, Descartes and Hume. To these, what little we know that seems certain is based on observation and habit as opposed to any logical or scientific necessity. Thus, sceptical views relate directly to epistemology-the theory of knowledge and what we can know-and, in the modern turbulent world, it is grayling's contention that these are issues that all contemporary people need to focus on. In seeking understanding of the human condition we need more than just a set of beliefs about all belief is irrational. We want to know or garner some kind of proof about the fundamental truths of human existence. This is the crux of the dilemma facing intelligent people today and is illuminated by this book.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Skepticism

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2008

About the author

Anthony Clifford "A. C." Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, an independent undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991. He is also a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.

He is a director and contributor at Prospect Magazine, as well as a Vice President of the British Humanist Association. His main academic interests lie in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophical logic. He has described himself as "a man of the left" and is associated in Britain with the new atheism movement, and is sometimes described as the 'Fifth Horseman of New Atheism'. He appears in the British media discussing philosophy.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a difficult read and I am glad I had my dictionary of philosophy handy.

The book is a collection of essays by AC Grayling. He examines the question of scepticism in epistemology. The author looks out whether knowledge is possible or whether we can know that we know about knowledge. To do this he outlines the thoughts on the subject from four philosophers. They are Russell, Berkeley, Wittgenstein and Quine. The table of contents are:

Part I CARTESIAN RESPONSES
i. Berkeley's Immaterialism
ii Russell, Experience, and the Roots of Science
iii Russell's Transcendental Argument in An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry

This part goes into the details of how Russel over time developed his ideas and thought on the subject.


Part II VARIETIES OF NATURALISM
i. Wittgenstein On Certainty
ii. Quine's Naturalistic Assumptions

The essays on Berkeley, Wittgenstein and Quine are helpful and discuss and analyze the major streams of epistemological thought on scepticism.

Part III SCEPTICISM AND JUSTIFICATION

The final part of the book gives the authors overview of scepticism and an analysis of the subject. Overall Grayling answers the question of whether knowledge is possible. It is. However, it was unclear to me if it was as it depends on your perspective.

To quote Grayling ‘…our knowledge and claims are domiciled in a justificatory inferential structure, in which certain beliefs of relatively greater generality are used as assumptions in establishing certain beliefs of relatively lesser generality; and that the scheme as a whole rests on a specifiable set of beliefs which serve as undischargeable assumptions of greater generality for it ‘

[Malola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Higher level than mine.
Very good...

[Dave Powell]

I didn't find this book very accessible. I was familiar with a lot of the material covered but found it a struggle to get through some of it. If I'd had more familiarity with the work of Russell I may have got more out of it.