Active learning ideas
Philosophical Scepticism introduces students to the radical questioning of our knowledge claims. Unlike ordinary doubt, which looks for specific reasons to disbelieve something, philosophical scepticism questions the very possibility of knowledge in certain areas. Students distinguish between local scepticism (focused on specific domains like the future or other minds) and global scepticism (which targets all knowledge of the external world).
Activity 01
Students list three things they doubt today (e.g., the weather forecast) and then try to apply a 'global' doubt to the same things. They discuss why philosophical doubt is harder to dismiss.
What is the purpose of philosophical scepticism?
Activity 02
Students are told they are actually brains in a vat being fed data by a computer. They must try to find one piece of evidence from their current surroundings that proves this is false, discovering the difficulty of defeating global scepticism.
How does local scepticism differ from global scepticism?
Activity 03
Stations are set up for 'Local Scepticism', 'Global Scepticism', and 'Methodological Scepticism'. Students move around to find examples for each and rank them by how 'dangerous' they are to everyday life.
Can we ever be certain of anything?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Students often think sceptics are just being 'annoying' or 'unrealistic'.
Scepticism is a tool used to test the strength of our justifications. Active learning helps students see that by trying to 'break' our knowledge, we find out what is truly certain and what is just a lucky guess.
Students confuse 'scepticism' with 'cynicism'.
Cynicism is a negative attitude toward people's motives; scepticism is a formal position on the limits of knowledge. Peer-led definitions can help clarify that a sceptic might be a very happy person who just thinks we can't 'prove' the world exists.
Methods used in this brief
Descartes' Method of Doubt
Students analyse Descartes' three waves of doubt, including the evil demon hypothesis. They will evaluate the cogito as a foundational truth.
8 methodologies
Empiricist Responses to Scepticism
An examination of how empiricists like Locke, Berkeley, and Russell respond to sceptical challenges. Students will assess the reliability of sense data.
8 methodologies