Radical skepticism and scientism essay PDF

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Radical Skepticism and Scientism Reflection

Grand Canyon University PHI-103 October 4th, 2020

2 Radical Skepticism and Scientism Reflection Paper In this paper, we will be discussing radical skepticism, and scientism by doing research about what each concept means, why are they important, and how do they affect or influence the Christian Worldview. Philosophy and science are two concepts that have been compared and contrasted throughout history when it comes to the discovery of truth and knowledge among humans. There are philosophers and scientists who believe that science is the only way to obtain absolute knowledge, this belief is that everything can be proven and explained by science can be controversial, and many times, it is not an idea that is accepted by others. On the other hand, there are many people that believe the contrary. Their belief is based on metaphysics, and how a proper description or explanation is needed in order to prove the existence of the universe and the things that are in it, as well as ethical reasoning, and epistemology. Radical skepticism is a philosophical concept in which it is believed that knowledge is impossible. Another word for it is “external world skepticism” which is how humans do not know anything about what the external world is and how it works, they only know what is on their mind which is known as “internal world” (Pritchard, 2016).External world skepticism is an idea that Is based on the beliefs that real knowledge is impossible to reach. In other words, humans will never find a way to know what the complete and absolute truth is, meaning that doubt will always be present in every situation. In radical skepticism, there are many implications for knowledge and the rest of life, especially when it comes life. If there is no such things as “knowing the absolute truth” then how do humans know if they are actually living in the real world? What if everything is part of their internal world, and they are not physically here? There are many questions and confusion that is brought up when it comes to radical skepticism. How are we sure that there is such things as radical skepticism if there isn’t any

3 certainty, is there any evidence that actually supports this belief? When it comes to the Christian worldview and religion in general, there is something that is known as “religious skepticism” which is when individuals question religious authority, and although they are skeptical about certain religious beliefs, it does not mean that they are anti-religion, or that they do not believe God exists. To continue, we will be discussing what is known as scientism. According to Shaunphilly (2011), the concept of scientism is defined as the belief that science the direct guide to what truth is. However, as humans, we have to understand that there is a difference between what “science” and “scientism” are. Science is a method in which humanity learns about creation, and how the universe and what is in it works and develops, while scientism is the philosophical belief that science is the way to absolute truth. Scientism has been around since the 17th century in Europe, it was called and known as the Scientific Revolution. Descartes, Galilei, and Bacon started a new movement which focused on proclaiming a new way of learning that involved nature rather than historical texts (Burnett, n.d.). Just like religious literalism, scientism can also become an ideology. As time passed by, philosophers became more familiar with the idea of scientism and just like scientists they are willing to be more open and discuss the possibility that the universe and human nature was created by the evolutionary process rather than a powerful being, in this case, God. There are many problems between scientism and the Christian worldview, the main one being the argument of science vs. religion. The theory and belief of what scientism is and how it has developed over the past centuries proves that it is something that will exist in the future as well. In conclusion, scientism and radical skepticism are concepts that have been compared and used to find the complete truth and have absolute knowledge. Although these concepts can

4 be based off an individual’s beliefs, there is research and actual evidence that supports the two. There is an incompatibility when it comes to scientism and Christianity due to the different beliefs that they both hold. There is a viewpoint that believes that if a thing has a natural explanation, it has a spiritual explanation as well. This idea was used by the founders of the scientific revolution, they based their beliefs on two books, one being The Bible (God’s word) and nature (God’s works) (Hutchinson, 2010). Overall, scientism and radical skepticism both have a relationship with religious beliefs, and as time passes by there will be new discoveries about these concepts.

5 References Hutchinson, I. (2010). The Veritas Forum. Is Scientism Compatible with the Christian Faith? Retrieved from http://www.veritas.org/is-scientism-compatible-with-the-christian-faith/ Pritchard, D. (2016) Radical Scepticism. In: Epistemology. Palgrave Philosophy Today. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-52692-2_6 Shaunphilly. (2011). Skepticism Properly Applied. Scientism or skepticism? Retrieved from https://polyskeptic.com/2011/11/07/scientism-or-skepticism/...