The philosophical tradition of doubting whether we can have certain knowledge of the world, the self, or moral truths. Ancient skepticism was developed by Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus; modern skepticism was given its most influential statement by Hume, whose version was practical and cheerful rather than paralyzing. He thought we should accept the limits of what we can know and get on with living well. Skepticism has continued to shape epistemology, moral philosophy, and political thinking down to the present.
Tradition
Skepticism
The philosophical tradition of doubting whether we can have certain knowledge of the world, the self, or moral truths.
Thinkers
Thinker
Voltaire
1694–1778
Voltaire was the French Enlightenment's great polemicist against clerical and arbitrary power, turning religious tolerance and freedom of expression into urgent political demands rather than abstract principles
ThinkerDavid Hume
1711–1776
David Hume was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher whose skeptical empiricism grounded politics in custom and sentiment, pairing conservative respect for institutions with liberal gradualism
Related through shared thinkers