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{{Short description|Doubtful attitude toward knowledge claims}}
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{{For-multi|denial of uncomfortable truths|Denialism|the band|Skepticism (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}

'''Skepticism''' ([[American English|US]]) or '''scepticism''' ([[British English|UK]]) is a questioning attitude or [[doubt]] toward [[knowledge]] claims that are seen as mere [[belief]] or [[dogma]].<ref>{{cite web|quote=Philosophical views are typically classed as skeptical when they involve advancing some degree of doubt regarding claims that are elsewhere taken for granted.|url=http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/s/skepcont.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113210019/http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/s/skepcont.htm |archive-date=13 January 2009|title=Contemporary Skepticism|website=The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|first=Duncan|last=Pritchard|year=2006 }}</ref> For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the person doubts that these claims are accurate. In such cases, skeptics normally recommend not disbelief but suspension of belief, i.e. maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms nor denies the claim. This attitude is often motivated by the impression that the available [[evidence]] is insufficient to support the claim. Formally, skepticism is a topic of interest in [[philosophy]], particularly [[epistemology]].

More informally, skepticism as an expression of questioning or doubt can be applied to any topic, such as politics, religion, or pseudoscience. It is often applied within restricted domains, such as morality ([[moral skepticism]]), [[atheism]] (skepticism about the [[existence of God]]), or the [[supernatural]].<ref name="Greco2009">{{cite book |last1=Greco |first1=John |title=The Oxford Handbook of Skepticism |date=2 September 2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195183214 |pages=3–7 |edition=1 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28229/chapter-abstract/213259164|chapter-url-access=subscription |language=en |chapter=Introduction|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195183214.003.0001}}</ref> Some theorists distinguish "good" or moderate skepticism, which seeks strong evidence before accepting a position, from "bad" or radical skepticism, which wants to suspend judgment indefinitely.<ref name="Raynaud1981">{{cite journal |last1=Raynaud |first1=Maurice |title=Skepticism in Medicine: Past and Present |journal=The Linacre Quarterly |date=1 May 1981 |volume=48 |issue=2 |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol48/iss2/8/ |issn=0024-3639}}</ref><ref name="MeinerSkeptizismus">{{cite book |editor1-last=Sandkühler |editor1-first=Hans Jörg |title=Enzyklopädie Philosophie |date=2010 |publisher=Meiner |url=https://meiner.de/enzyklopadie-philosophie-14071.html|url-access=subscription |chapter=Skepsis/Skeptizismus}}</ref>

[[Philosophical skepticism]] is one form of skepticism. It rejects knowledge claims that seem certain from the perspective of [[common sense]]. Radical forms of philosophical skepticism deny that "knowledge or rational belief is possible" and suggest individuals to [[suspension of judgment|suspend judgment]] on many or all controversial matters. More moderate forms claim only that nothing can be known with certainty, or that we can know little or nothing about nonempirical matters, such as whether God exists, whether human beings have free will, or whether there is an afterlife. In ancient philosophy, skepticism was understood as a way of life associated with [[inner peace]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bett |first1=Richard Arnot Home |title=The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Scepticism |date=28 January 2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521874762 |page=289 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5V8pQDsM5poC&pg=PA289 |language=en}}</ref>

Skepticism has been responsible for many important developments in science and philosophy. It has also inspired several contemporary social movements. [[Religious skepticism]] advocates for doubt concerning basic religious principles, such as immortality, [[Divine providence|providence]], and [[revelation]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = skepticism (noun)|url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skepticism|website = Merriam-Webster|access-date = 2016-02-05}}</ref> [[Scientific skepticism]] advocates for testing beliefs for reliability, by subjecting them to [[wikt:systematic|systematic]] investigation using the [[scientific method]], to discover [[empirical evidence]] for them.

== Definition and semantic field ==
''Skepticism'', also spelled ''scepticism'' (from the Greek {{lang|grc|σκέπτομαι}} {{transliteration|grc|skeptomai}}, to search, to think about or look for), refers to a doubting attitude toward [[knowledge]] claims.{{r|Greco2009}}<ref name="Popkin">{{cite web |last1=Popkin |first1=Richard H. |title=skepticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism |website=Britannica |access-date=23 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref> So if a person is skeptical of their government's claims about an ongoing war then the person has doubts that these claims are true. Or being skeptical that one's favorite hockey team will win the championship means that one is uncertain about the strength of their performance.<ref name="Greco2009"/> Skepticism about a claim implies that one does not [[Belief|believe]] the claim to be true. But it does not automatically follow that one should believe that the claim is false either. Instead, skeptics usually recommend a neutral attitude: beliefs about this matter should be suspended. In this regard, skepticism about a claim can be defined as the thesis that "the only justified attitude with respect to [this claim] is suspension of judgment".<ref name="Comesaña2001">{{cite web |last1=Comesaña |first1=Juan |last2=Klein |first2=Peter |title=Skepticism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism/ |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=24 August 2022 |date=2019}}</ref> It is often motivated by the impression that one cannot be certain about it. This is especially relevant when there is significant expert disagreement.<ref name="Blackburn2008">{{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Simon |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199541430 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199541430.001.0001/acref-9780199541430-e-2771|url-access=subscription |language=en |chapter=scepticism}}</ref> Skepticism is usually restricted to a claim or a field of inquiry. So religious and [[Moral skepticism|moral skeptics]] have a doubtful attitude about religious and moral doctrines. But some forms of philosophical skepticism, are wider in that they reject any form of knowledge.<ref name="Blackburn2008"/>

Some definitions, often inspired by [[ancient philosophy]], see skepticism not just as an attitude but as a way of life. This is based on the idea that maintaining the skeptical attitude of doubt toward most concerns in life is superior to living in dogmatic certainty, for example because such a skeptic has more [[happiness]] and [[Inner peace|peace of mind]] or because it is morally better.<ref name="Greco2009"/><ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web |last1=Vogt |first1=Katja |title=Ancient Skepticism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-ancient/ |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=30 August 2022 |date=2021}}
|2={{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Baron |title=The Mystery of Skepticism|editor-first1=Kevin|editor-last1=McCain|editor-first2=Ted|editor-last2=Poston|chapter=Skepticism as a Way of Life |year= 2018 |publisher=Brill|series=Brill Studies in Skepticism|volume=2 |pages=63–80 |isbn=978-9004393530 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004393530/BP000005.xml|chapter-url-access=subscription |language=en|doi=10.1163/9789004393530_006|s2cid=150356547 }} }}</ref> In [[contemporary philosophy]], on the other hand, skepticism is often understood neither as an attitude nor as a way of life but as a thesis: the thesis that knowledge does not exist.<ref name="Greco2009"/>

Skepticism is related to various terms. It is sometimes equated with [[agnosticism]] and [[relativism]].<ref name="MeinerSkeptizismus" /><ref name="NewtonFlew2021">{{cite web |first1=Antony Garrard  |last1=Newton Flew |title=agnosticism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/agnosticism |website=Britannica |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Sankey2012">{{cite journal |last1=Sankey |first1=Howard |title=Scepticism, relativism and the argument from the criterion |journal=Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A |date=1 March 2012 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=182–190 |doi=10.1016/j.shpsa.2011.12.026 |bibcode=2012SHPSA..43..182S |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039368111001373|url-access=subscription |language=en |issn=0039-3681}}</ref> However, there are slight differences in meaning. Agnosticism is often understood more narrowly as skepticism about religious questions, in particular, about the [[Christian doctrine]].<ref name="NewtonFlew2021"/> Relativism does not deny the existence of knowledge or truth but holds that they are relative to a person and differ from person to person, for example, because they follow different cognitive norms.<ref name="Baghramian2020">{{cite web |last1=Baghramian |first1=Maria |last2=Carter |first2=J. Adam |title=Relativism: 4.4 Epistemic relativism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/#EpiRel |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=26 August 2022 |date=2022}}</ref> The opposite of skepticism is [[dogmatism]], which implies an attitude of certainty in the form of an unquestioning belief.<ref name="Laursen2018">{{cite book |first1=John Christian |last1=Laursen |title=New Dictionary of the History of Ideas |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/philosophy/philosophy-terms-and-concepts/skepticism |chapter=Skepticism|year=2018}}</ref> A similar contrast is often drawn in relation to blind faith and credulity.<ref name="Raynaud1981" />

== Types ==
Various types of skepticism have been discussed in the academic literature. Skepticism is usually restricted to knowledge claims on one particular subject, which is why its different forms can be distinguished based on the subject.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin|Blackburn2008}} For example, [[Religious skepticism|religious skeptics]] distrust [[religious doctrines]] and [[Moral skepticism|moral skeptics]] raise doubts about accepting various moral requirements and customs. Skepticism can also be applied to knowledge in general. However, this attitude is usually only found in some forms of philosophical skepticism.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin}} A closely related classification distinguishes based on the [[Sources of knowledge|source of knowledge]], such as skepticism about [[perception]], [[memory]], or [[intuition]].<ref name="Cohen1996">{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Stewart |editor1-last=Craig |editor1-first=Edward |title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=1996 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/BEAREO |chapter=}}</ref> A further distinction is based on the degree of the skeptical attitude. The strongest forms assert that there is no knowledge at all or that knowledge is impossible. Weaker forms merely state that one can never be absolutely certain.<ref name="Greco2009"/>

Some theorists distinguish between a good or healthy form of moderate skepticism in contrast to a bad or unhealthy form of radical skepticism. On this view, the "good" skeptic is a critically minded person who seeks strong evidence before accepting a position. The "bad" skeptic, on the other hand, wants to "suspend judgment indefinitely... even in the face of demonstrable truth".{{r|Raynaud1981|MeinerSkeptizismus}} Another categorization focuses on the motivation for the skeptical attitude. Some skeptics have [[ideological]] motives: they want to replace inferior beliefs with better ones. Others have a more practical outlook in that they see problematic beliefs as the cause of harmful customs they wish to stop. Some skeptics have very particular goals in mind, such as bringing down a certain institution associated with the spread of claims they reject.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin}}

[[Philosophical skepticism]] is a prominent form of skepticism and can be contrasted with non-philosophical or ordinary skepticism. Ordinary skepticism involves a doubting attitude toward knowledge claims that are rejected by many.<ref name="Comesaña2001"/> Almost everyone shows some form of ordinary skepticism, for example, by doubting the knowledge claims made by [[flat earthers]] or [[astrologer]]s.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin}} Philosophical skepticism, on the other hand, is a much more radical and rare position. It includes the rejection of knowledge claims that seem certain from the perspective of [[common sense]]. Some forms of it even deny that one knows that "I have two hands" or that "the sun will come out tomorrow".<ref name="Comesaña2001"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Olsson |first1=Erik J. |title=Not Giving the Skeptic a Hearing: 'Pragmatism and Radical Doubt' |journal=Philosophy and Phenomenological Research |date=2005 |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=98–126 |doi=10.1111/j.1933-1592.2005.tb00507.x |jstor=40040781 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40040781|url-access=subscription |issn=0031-8205}}</ref> It is taken seriously in philosophy nonetheless because it has proven very hard to conclusively refute philosophical skepticism.{{r|Greco2009|Comesaña2001}}

==In various fields==
Skepticism has been responsible for important developments in various fields, such as [[science]], [[medicine]], and [[philosophy]]. In science, the skeptical attitude toward traditional opinions was a key factor in the development of the [[scientific method]]. It emphasizes the need to scrutinize knowledge claims by testing them through [[experimentation]] and precise [[measurement]].<ref name="Laursen2018"/><ref name="Lagerlund2020">{{cite book |last1=Lagerlund |first1=Henrik |chapter=Non-Philosophical Skepticism|title=Skepticism in Philosophy: A Comprehensive, Historical Introduction |date=29 April 2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1351369954 |page=197 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UX3gDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|chapter-url-access=subscription |language=en}}</ref> In the field of medicine, skepticism has helped establish more advanced forms of treatment by putting into doubt traditional forms that were based on intuitive appeal rather than [[empirical evidence]].<ref name="Raynaud1981"/><ref name="Laursen2018"/> In the history of philosophy, skepticism has often played a productive role not just for skeptics but also for non-skeptical philosophers.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=Chris |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophical Methods |date=2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location= U.K. |isbn=978-1137344557 |pages=1–30 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137344557_1 |language=en |chapter=Introduction and Historical Overview|chapter-url-access=subscription|doi=10.1057/9781137344557_1 }}</ref> This is due to its critical attitude that challenges the [[epistemological]] foundations of philosophical theories. This can help to keep speculation in check and may provoke creative responses, transforming the theory in question in order to overcome the problems posed by skepticism.{{r|Greco2009|Popkin}} According to Richard H. Popkin, "the history of philosophy can be seen, in part, as a struggle with skepticism". This struggle has led many contemporary philosophers to abandon the quest for absolutely certain or indubitable first principles of philosophy, which was still prevalent in many earlier periods.<ref name="Popkin"/> Skepticism has been an important topic throughout the history of philosophy and is still widely discussed today.<ref name="Greco2009"/>

===Philosophy===
{{Pyrrhonism sidebar}}{{Main|Philosophical skepticism}}
As a philosophical school or movement, skepticism arose both in ancient Greece and India. In India the [[Ajñana]] school of philosophy espoused skepticism. It was a major early rival of [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]], and possibly a major influence on Buddhism. Two of the foremost disciples of the [[Buddha]], [[Sariputta]] and [[Maudgalyayana|Moggallāna]], were initially students of the Ajñana philosopher [[Sanjaya Belatthiputta]]. A strong element of skepticism is found in [[Early Buddhist schools|Early Buddhism]], most particularly in the [[Atthakavagga and Parayanavagga|Aṭṭhakavagga]] sutra. However, the total effect these philosophies had on each other is difficult to discern. Since skepticism is a philosophical attitude and a style of philosophizing rather than a position, the Ajñanins may have influenced other skeptical thinkers of India such as [[Nagarjuna]], [[Jayarāśi Bhaṭṭa]], and [[Shriharsha]].{{sfn|Matilal|2004|pp=52–75}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In Greece, philosophers as early as [[Xenophanes]] ({{BCE|{{circa|570}}–{{circa|475}}}}) expressed skeptical views, as did [[Democritus]]<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|author=[[Diogenes Laërtius]]|title=Lives of the Eminent Philosophers|at=[https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/diogenes-laertius/the-lives-and-opinions-of-eminent-philosophers/c-d-yonge/text/book-9#part-9-7 Book IX]}}
|2= [[#Fr|Bakalis]] (2005, p. 86){{full citation needed|date=August 2023}} }}</ref>
and a number of [[Sophists]]. [[Gorgias]], for example, reputedly argued that nothing exists, that even if there were something we could not know it, and that even if we could know it we could not communicate it.<ref>{{cite book|first=W. T.|last=Jones|title=A History of Western Philosophy|location=New York|publisher=Harcourt, Brace|year=1952|at=p. 60 n. 45}}</ref> The [[Heraclitus|Heraclitean]] philosopher [[Cratylus]] refused to discuss anything and would merely wriggle his finger, claiming that communication is impossible since meanings are constantly changing.<ref name=PopkinSkepticism>{{cite book|first=Richard H.|last=Popkin|chapter=Skepticism|editor-first=Paul|editor-last=Edwards|title=The Encyclopedia of Philosophy|volume=7|location=New York|publisher=Macmillan|year=1967}}</ref>{{rp|449}} [[Socrates]] also had skeptical tendencies, claiming to know nothing worthwhile.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hazlett|first=Allan|author-link=Allan Hazlett|title=[[A Critical Introduction to Skepticism]]|location=London|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2014|pages=4–5}}</ref>

[[File:Philosopher,_marble_head,_Roman_copy,_AM_Corfu,_Krfm22.jpg|thumb|[[Pyrrho of Elis]] was the founder of the school of skepticism known as [[Pyrrhonism]].]]
There were two major schools of skepticism in the ancient Greek and Roman world. The first was [[Pyrrhonism]], founded by [[Pyrrho of Elis]] ({{circa|{{BCE|360–270}}}}). The second was [[Academic Skepticism]], so-called because its two leading defenders, [[Arcesilaus]] ({{circa|{{BCE|315–240}}}}) who initiated the philosophy, and [[Carneades]] ({{circa|{{BCE|217–128}}}}), the philosophy's most famous proponent, were heads of Plato's [[Academy]]. Pyrrhonism's aims are psychological. It urges suspension of judgment ({{transliteration|grc|[[epoche]]}}) to achieve mental tranquility ({{transliteration|grc|[[ataraxia]]}}). The Academic Skeptics denied that knowledge is possible ({{transliteration|grc|[[acatalepsy]]}}). The Academic Skeptics claimed that some beliefs are more reasonable or probable than others, whereas Pyrrhonian skeptics argue that equally compelling arguments can be given for or against any disputed view.{{r|PopkinSkepticism|page=450}} Nearly all the writings of the ancient skeptics are now lost. Most of what we know about ancient skepticism is from [[Sextus Empiricus]], a Pyrrhonian skeptic who lived in {{CE|the second or third century}}. His works contain a lucid summary of stock skeptical arguments.

Ancient skepticism faded out during the late Roman Empire, particularly after [[Augustine]] ({{CE|354–430}}) attacked the skeptics in his work ''Against the Academics'' ({{CE|386}}). There was little knowledge of, or interest in, ancient skepticism in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages. Interest revived during the Renaissance and Reformation, particularly after the complete writings of Sextus Empiricus were translated into Latin in 1569 and after [[Martin Luther]]'s skepticism of holy orders.<ref name="Daughtrity 2017 p. 358">{{cite book | last=Daughtrity | first=Dyron B. | title=Martin Luther: A Biography for the People | publisher=Abilene Christian University Press | year=2017 | isbn=978-0891124689 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TEGHDwAAQBAJ | url-access=subscription | access-date=2023-02-11 | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TEGHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT358 358]}}</ref> A number of Catholic writers, including [[Francisco Sanches]] ({{circa|1550–1623}}), [[Michel de Montaigne]] (1533–1592), [[Pierre Gassendi]] (1592–1655), and [[Marin Mersenne]] (1588–1648) deployed ancient skeptical arguments to defend moderate forms of skepticism and to argue that faith, rather than reason, must be the primary guide to truth. Similar arguments were offered later (perhaps ironically) by the Protestant thinker [[Pierre Bayle]] in his influential Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697–1702).<ref name=PopkinHistory>{{cite book|first=Richard H.|last=Popkin|title=The History of Skepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza|edition=revised|location=Berkeley|publisher=University of California Press|year=1979}}</ref>{{rp|chaps. 1 & 2}}

The growing popularity of skeptical views created an intellectual crisis in seventeenth-century Europe. An influential response was offered by the French philosopher and mathematician [[René Descartes]] (1596–1650). In his classic work, ''Meditations of First Philosophy'' (1641), Descartes sought to refute skepticism, but only after he had formulated the case for skepticism as powerfully as possible. Descartes argued that no matter what radical skeptical possibilities we imagine there are certain truths (e.g., that thinking is occurring, or that I exist) that are absolutely certain. Thus, the ancient skeptics were wrong to claim that knowledge is impossible. Descartes also attempted to refute skeptical doubts about the reliability of our senses, our memory, and other cognitive faculties. To do this, Descartes tried to prove that God exists and that God would not allow us to be systematically deceived about the nature of reality. Many contemporary philosophers question whether this second stage of Descartes's critique of skepticism is successful.{{r|PopkinHistory|page=210}}

In the eighteenth century a new case for skepticism was offered by the Scottish philosopher [[David Hume]] (1711–1776). Hume was an empiricist, claiming that all genuine ideas can be traced back to original impressions of sensation or introspective consciousness. Hume argued that on empiricist grounds there are no sound reasons for belief in God, an enduring self or soul, an external world, causal necessity, objective morality, or inductive reasoning. In fact, he argued that "Philosophy would render us entirely Pyrrhonian, were not Nature too strong for it."{{r|PopkinSkepticism|page=456}} As Hume saw it, the real basis of human belief is not reason, but custom or habit. We are hard-wired by nature to trust, say, our memories or inductive reasoning, and no skeptical arguments, however powerful, can dislodge those beliefs. In this way, Hume embraced what he called a "mitigated" skepticism, while rejecting an "excessive" Pyrrhonian skepticism that he saw as both impractical and psychologically impossible.

Hume's skepticism provoked a number of important responses. Hume's Scottish contemporary, [[Thomas Reid]] (1710–1796), challenged Hume's strict empiricism and argued that it is rational to accept "common-sense" beliefs such as the basic reliability of our senses, our reason, our memories, and inductive reasoning, even though none of these things can be proved. In Reid's view, such common-sense beliefs are foundational and require no proof in order to be rationally justified.{{r|PopkinSkepticism|page=456}} Not long after Hume's death, the German philosopher [[Immanuel Kant]] (1724–1804) argued that human empirical experience has possibility conditions which could not have been realized unless Hume's skeptical conclusions about causal synthetic ''a priori'' judgements were false.

Today, skepticism continues to be a topic of lively debate among philosophers.{{r|Greco2009}} British philosopher [[Julian Baggini]] posits that reason is perceived as "an enemy of mystery and ambiguity," but, if used properly, can be an effective tool for solving many larger societal issues.<ref name="Radford and Frazier (2017)">{{cite journal |author-link1=Benjamin Radford|last1=Radford|first1=Benjamin|author-link2=Kendrick Frazier|last2=Frazier|first2=Kendrick |title=The Edge of Reason: A Rational Skeptic in an Irrational World |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=January 2017 |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=60}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religious skepticism}}
Religious skepticism generally refers to doubting particular religious beliefs or claims. For example, a religious skeptic might believe that [[Jesus]] existed (see [[historicity of Jesus]]) while questioning claims that he was the messiah or performed miracles. Historically, religious skepticism can be traced back to [[Xenophanes]], who doubted many religious claims of his time, although he recognized that "[[God]] is one, supreme among gods and men, and not like mortals in body or in mind." He maintained that there was one greatest God. God is one eternal being, spherical in form, comprehending all things within himself, is the absolute mind and thought, therefore is intelligent, and moves all things, but bears no resemblance to human nature either in body or mind.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKirahan |first1=Richard D. |title=Philosophy Before Socrates |edition=2nd |publisher=Hackett Publishing Company |pages=61–63 |date=2010|isbn=978-1603841832 }}</ref>

Religious skepticism is not the same as [[atheism]] or [[agnosticism]], though these often do involve skeptical attitudes toward religion and philosophical theology (for example, towards divine [[omnipotence]]). Religious people are generally skeptical about claims of other religions, at least when the two denominations conflict concerning some belief. Additionally, they may also be skeptical of the claims made by atheists.

The historian [[Will Durant]] writes that [[Plato]] was "as skeptical of atheism as of any other dogma". The [[Baháʼí Faith]] encourages skepticism that is mainly centered around self-investigation of
truth.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |year=2000 |location=Oxford, U.K.|publisher= Oneworld Publications |isbn=1851681841 |pages=266–267}}</ref>

===Science===
{{Main|Scientific skepticism}}
A scientific or [[empirical]] skeptic is one who questions beliefs on the basis of scientific understanding and empirical evidence.

[[Scientific]] skepticism may discard beliefs pertaining to ''purported phenomena'' not subject to reliable observation and thus not systematic or empirically [[falsifiability|testable]]. Most scientists, being scientific skeptics, test the reliability of certain kinds of claims by subjecting them to systematic investigation via the [[scientific method]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bloomberg|first1=David|last2=Novella|first2=Steven|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/1999/07/scientific-skepticism-csicop-and-the-local-groups/|title=Scientific Skepticism, CSICOP, and the Local Groups|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|volume=23|number=4|date=July 1999|access-date=2018-07-05}}</ref> As a result, [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience|a number of ostensibly scientific claims]] are considered to be "[[pseudoscience]]" if they are found to improperly apply or to ignore the fundamental aspects of the scientific method.

=== Auditing ===
Professional skepticism is an important concept in [[auditing]]. It requires an auditor to have a "questioning mind", to make a critical assessment of evidence, and to consider the sufficiency of the evidence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pcaobus.org/Standards/Auditing/Pages/AU230.aspx#ps-pcaob_1c410f9b-5033-4f18-b865-af1307863bee|title=AU Section 230: Due Professional Care in the Performance of Work|website=Public Company Accounting Oversight Board|year=1972|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-28|at=Professional Skepticism}}</ref>

==See also==
{{cols|colwidth=21em}}
{{bots|deny=FrescoBot}}
* {{Annotated link|[[The Amaz!ng Meeting]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Critical thinking]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynicism]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Debunker]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Pseudoskepticism]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Scientific skepticism]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|''Skeptic'']]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[The Skeptic (UK magazine)|''The Skeptic'']]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Skeptical Inquirer|''Skeptical Inquirer'']]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Skepticality]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[The Skeptic's Dictionary|''The Skeptic's Dictionary'']]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Skeptics in the Pub]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[The Skeptics Society]]}}
* {{Annotated link|[[Trivialism]]}}
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|author-link=Panayot Butchvarov|last=Butchvarov|first=Panayot|title=Skepticism About the External World|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1998}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Richard Hönigswald|first=Richard|last=Hönigswald|title=Die Skepsis in Philosophie und Wissenschaft|orig-year=1914|location=Göttingen|publisher=Edition Ruprecht|year=2008|isbn=978-3767530560}}
* {{cite book|last=Keeton|first=Morris T.|chapter=skepticism|pages=277–278|editor-first=Dagobert D.|editor-last=Runes|title=Dictionary of Philosophy|publisher=Littlefield, Adams, and Company|location=Totowa, N.J.|year=1962}}
* {{cite journal |journal=Logos & Episteme |last=Le Morvan |first=P. |title=Healthy Skepticism and Practical Wisdom |volume=2 |number=1 |date=March 2011 |pages=87–102 |url=http://logos-and-episteme.acadiasi.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/HEALTHY-SKEPTICISM-AND-PRACTICAL-WISDOM.pdf |publisher=Institute for Economic and Social Research |issn=2069-0533 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904064026/https://owd.tcnj.edu/~lemorvan/documents/LE_Skepticism.pdf |archive-date=2019-09-04|doi=10.5840/logos-episteme20112151 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book|title=[[A Greek-English Lexicon]]|author-link1=Henry George Liddell|first1=Henry George|last1=Liddell|author-link2=Robert Scott (philologist)|first2=Robert|last2=Scott|edition=revised and augmented|author-link3=Henry Stuart Jones|last3=Jones|first3=Henry Stuart|first4=Roderick|last4=McKenzie|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]|location=Oxford, U.K.|year=1940}}
* {{cite book|last=Matilal | first=B.K. | title=Logical and Ethical Issues: An Essays on Indian Philosophy of Religion | chapter=Scepticism | year=2004 | edition=2nd | publisher=Orient Blackswan| place=India | pages=52–75 | isbn=978-8180280115 | chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nnvWbzLWFXkC&q=indian+scepticism&pg=PA52}}
* {{cite book|title=Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language|edition=Second, Unabridged|editor-first1=W.A.|editor-last1=Neilson|editor-first2=T.A.|editor-last2=Knott|editor-first3=P.W.|editor-last3=Carhart|publisher=G. & C. Merriam Company|location=Springfield, Mass.|year=1950}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|title = The Skeptical Tradition|publisher = University of California Press|year = 1983|isbn = 978-0520037472|language = en|first = Myles|last = Burnyeat |author-link=Myles Frederic Burnyeat }}
* {{Cite book|title = Sextus Empiricus: Outlines of Pyrrhonism|publisher = Harvard University Press|year = 1933|isbn = 978-0674993013|language = en|first = Robert Gregg|last = Bury |author-link=Robert Gregg Bury }}
* {{Cite book|title = Sextus Empiricus: Outlines of Scepticism|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mzO77w6KvDgC|url-access=subscription|publisher = Cambridge University Press|date = 2000-07-20|isbn = 978-0521778091|language = en|first1 = Sextus|last1 = Empiricus|first2 = Julia|last2 = Annas|first3 = Jonathan|last3 = Barnes |author-link2=Julia Annas |author-link3=Jonathan Barnes }}
* {{Cite book|title = The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake|publisher = Hodder & Stoughton|year = 2018|isbn = 978-1473696419|language = en|first = Steven|last = Novella |author-link=Steven Novella }}
* {{Cite book|title = Total Truth:Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity|publisher = Crossway Books|year = 2005|isbn = 978-1581347463|language = en|first = Nancy|last = Pearcey |author-link=Nancy Pearcey}}
* {{Cite book|title = The History of Scepticism: From Savonarola to Bayle|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7j8PdlgFRDAC|url-access=subscription|publisher = Oxford University Press, US|year = 2003|isbn = 978-0198026716|language = en|first = Richard H. |last = Popkin |author-link=Richard Henry Popkin }}
* {{Cite journal|title = A close look at therapeutic touch|journal = JAMA|date = 1998-04-01|issn = 0098-7484|pages = 1005–1010|volume = 279|issue = 13|doi = 10.1001/jama.279.13.1005|last1 = Rosa L|last2 = Rosa E|last3 = Sarner L|last4 = Barrett S|pmid=9533499|doi-access = free|citeseerx = 10.1.1.592.8130}}
* {{Cite book|title = The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy|publisher = Crossway Books|year = 1994|isbn = 978-0891077664|language = en | first = Charles| last = Thaxton|author-link=Charles B. Thaxton}}
* {{Cite book|title = Don't Get Fooled Again: A Sceptic's Handbook|publisher = Icon|year = 2009|isbn = 978-1848310520|language = en|first = Richard|last = Wilson}}

==External links==
* {{PhilPapers|category|skepticism}}
* {{InPho|taxonomy|2391}}
* {{cite SEP |url-id=skepticism |title=Skepticism |last=Klein |first=Peter}}
* {{cite SEP |url-id=skepticism-ancient |title=Ancient Greek Skepticism |last=Vogt |first=Katja}}
* {{cite IEP |url-id=skepanci/ |title=Ancient Greek Skepticism |last=Thorsrud |first=Harald}}
* {{cite SEP |url-id=skepticism-medieval/ |title=Medieval Skepticism |last=Bolyard |first=Charles}}
* {{cite IEP |url-id=skepcont/ |title=Contemporary Skepticism |last=Pritchard |first=Duncan}}
* {{cite journal|first=Kurt|last=Kleiner|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7915|url-status=dead|title=Most Scientific Papers are Probably Wrong|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919062923/http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7915 |archive-date=19 September 2008 |journal=[[New Scientist]]|date=30 August 2005}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/articles/19991214-century/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715132139/http://www.csicop.org/articles/19991214-century/|archive-date=2007-07-15|url-status=dead|title=''Skeptical Inquirer'' Magazine Names the Ten Outstanding Skeptics of the Century|website=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]|location=Amherst, N.Y.}}
* [https://ghostwatch.com/paranormal-blog/what-kind-of-skeptic-are-you-really/ Skepticism in Paranormal Research]

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