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I had a long talk with my aunt today.
The initial discussion was an attempt to pursued me to go to Alaska with her family over the summer instead of doing my solo euro backpacking adventure, because Alaska is beautiful & just as photo worthy as Europe, plus i'd be avoiding more dangers in Alaska with family then in Europe alone. I understood where she was coming from and quietly said "uhuhs" when needed, dreading telling her I was going to pick Europe, knowing she'd disapprove.
A few hours after that she called me again and apologized. She said that i'm twenty and that this is what i've been wanting to do for years and she's wrong to discourage me, she ran through a safety list with me then blew me a kiss over the phone.
I am blessed to have family that genuinely cares about my safety and understands my dreams and lets me go for them.
*I am selling prints to fund my upcoming Euro-trip, please message me here, or on FB if you're interested! Thank You*
Instagram: @madelineire
Existence de edward bond au théâtre des argonautes à marseille
mise en scène francine eymery, collaboration artistique et scénographique jean-pierre girard
avec lionel barathieu et frédéric josse
As a bird photographer, it is so easy to get caught up in celebrating the beauty, flight, and grace of the avian kingdom, while ignoring the realities of death, the daily struggle to find food, and territorial clashes over mates, food sources, and becoming prey to other hungry animals.
The cycle of life involves all these things taken together and I believe it is good to balance their beauty with the harsh realities they face in daily existence.
I came upon this bird as I was walking the beach last week. I believe it is a female merganser, though I could be wrong. We have many mergansers courting at the lakeshore these spring days; sadly this one will no longer be swimming and courting and flying with its peers.
Obviously, I don't expect many view, faves, or comments. But to those who do comment, thank you in advance...
The Royal Armouries began life as the main royal and national arsenal housed in the Tower of London. Indeed the Royal Armouries has occupied buildings within the Tower for making and storing arms, armour and military equipment for as long as the Tower itself has been in existence.
Early in the 19th century the nature and purpose of the museum began to change radically. Displays were gradually altered from exhibitions of curiosities to historically ‘accurate’ and logically organised displays designed to improve the visitor by illuminating the past.
Origins
The origins of the Armouries may be traced back to the working armoury of the medieval kings of England. The first recorded visitor to the Tower Armouries was in 1498, when entry was only by special permission. After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the paying public was allowed in to marvel at new displays set up to celebrate the power and splendour of English monarchy.
The Armouries is one of the ancient institutions of the Tower of London, which have also included the Board of Ordnance, the Menagerie, the Royal Mint, the Jewel House, the Royal Observatory and the Tower Record Office. These institutions are the focus of a permanent exhibition in the White Tower – Powerhouse).
An important chapter in its development occurred in the early 15th century, with the emergence of the Office of Armoury as an offshoot of the Privy Wardrobe of the Tower. At this point it seems that the positions ‘Keeper of the King’s armour at the Tower of London’ (first mentioned in 1423) and the ‘Master of the Ordnance’ (first recorded in 1414) replaced the previous ‘Keeper of the Wardrobe’.
The offices of the Armoury and Ordnance were responsible for procuring and issuing a wide variety of military equipment. The Armoury concentrated on armour and edged weapons; the Ordnance concentrated on cannon, handguns and the more traditional bow and arrow. Developments in the art of war resulted in the Ordnance becoming the more important of the two organisations, and in 1670 the equipment and functions of the Office of Armoury passed to the Ordnance.
16th–17th centuries
By the end of the 16th century, some of the early visitors to the Tower began to record their impressions of the Armoury. Jacob Rathgar, secretary of Frederick, Duke of Wirtenburg, described what they were shown in 1592. Despite the presence of many fine pieces of artillery, Rathgar felt the collection did not compare with those in his native Germany for ‘they stand about in the greatest confusion and disorder’.
Paul Hentzner provided the first detailed description of the Armoury after a visit to London in 1598. He was shown many items belonging to Henry VIII, including a gilt suit of armour, and several historic cannon; among them two wooden pieces used to deceive the French at the siege of Boulogne in 1544.
The following year Joseph Platter, a Swiss traveller from Basle, visited the Tower and again paid attention to the personal armoury of Henry VIII, which he makes clear was located in the White Tower. Interestingly, reference is made to the cost of viewing the Armoury, with payments being made at four points in the building ‘to a servant appointed to receive the same’.
Rathgar’s complaint in 1592 about the disorderly appearance of the Armoury, repeated by the Duke of Stettin-Pomerania a decade later, suggests that little attention was paid to presentation in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
This situation was to change immediately after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, when two permanent public displays were set up, known as the Line of Kings and the Spanish Armoury.
The former, as the name suggests, was a row of figures representing the kings of England. They appeared on life-sized wooden horses wearing what was said to be their personal armour. The line was first recorded in the Tower in an inventory dated October 1660, and it is possible that the display was assembled to mark Charles II’s visit to the Tower of London in August that year, after his many years in exile.
The Spanish Armoury was a collection of fearsome-looking weapons, displayed alongside a few instruments of torture, claimed to have been taken from the Spanish Armada in 1588. However, the historical basis for this association was quite unsound, with few, if any, of the objects having Spanish connections.
17th–19th centuries
Towards the end of the 17th century, the Office of Ordnance added two new armouries’ displays to the visitor attractions at the Tower. These were housed in one of the largest and most prestigious buildings ever to be seen at the Tower – the Grand Storehouse – that was built on the high ground immediately north of the White Tower.
The third, and most fantastic, display was installed on the first floor in 1696. Under the supervision of John Harris of Eaton, tens of thousands of small arms, and a mass of elaborate wooden carvings, were used to create such diverse installations as the ‘Witch of Endor’, the ‘Back Bones of a Whale’, a huge organ, and a seven-headed monster.
In the great Artillery Hall stood the great guns of the artillery train. As time went by, however, the room increasingly took on the appearance of a museum of military power, in which cannon and other trophies captured from battlefields around the world were brought here and displayed.
Also to be seen were items of curiosity and historic interest. Perhaps one of the most infamous was the Tower ‘Rack to extort Confession’. Last prepared for use in January 1673, the rack had presumably been decommissioned by June 1675, as it then appears in the first of several Ordnance inventories.
Throughout the 18th and into the early 19th century, the Ordnance continued to adjust and embellish its four armouries at the Tower. In 1825, the decision was taken to re-locate the Line of Kings into a new building against the south side of the White Tower.
The Horse Armoury was architecturally significant as it represented the first purpose-built museum gallery at the Tower. With the move, the notable antiquarian Dr Samuel Meyerick reorganised the exhibits along more scholarly and scientific lines.
Moreover, the Ordnance began to release funds allowing objects to be bought for the first time to expand the collection in specific and targeted, areas. Together with inaugural efforts at object conservation, the first decisive steps had been taken to transform the Tower armouries into a modern museum.
19th–21st centuries
In 1838 the cost of visiting the Tower Armouries was cut from 3 shillings to 1 shilling and lowered again the following year to 6d. The effect of these reductions was to see visitor numbers rise from 10,500 in 1837 to 80,000 in 1839.
On the evening of 30 October 1841 the Grand Storehouse was engulfed by a terrible fire destroying most
I like this photo for it touches the very important aspect of being a human.... like horses... touching heads to each other.. touching ones brain to each other is important... I dunno what science says about that and nethier I care... everything is for a reason... A very young dauhter of one of my friends.. we used to have those games all the time... touching each other head and laugh or be amazed or sad... she was amazing in picking the stuff out.. and I always had to be POSITIVE in my thoughts.. otherwise she would cry... and she was only like... 4?
Gombrowicz answers:
And she put her face near mine. And my strength failed me, sleep submerged wakefulness, and I could not.... I had to kiss her face, touch her face with mine, because she touched my face with hers. And now, oh faces!....
Witold Gombrowicz, Ferdydurke
Sarnath is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The Buddha went from Bodhgaya to Sarnath about 5 weeks after his enlightenment. Before Gautama (the Buddha-to-be) attained enlightenment, he gave up his austere penances and his friends, the Pañcavaggiya monks, left him and went to Isipatana.
Isipatana is the name used in the Pali Canon, and means the place where holy men (Pali: isi, Sanskrit: rishi) landed.
After attaining Enlightenment the Buddha, leaving Uruvela, travelled to the Isipatana to join and teach them. He went to them because, using his spiritual powers, he had seen that his five former companions would be able to understand Dharma quickly. While travelling to Sarnath, Gautama Buddha had to cross the Ganges. Having no money with which to pay the ferryman, he crossed the Ganges through the air. When King Bimbisāra heard of this, he abolished the toll for ascetics. When Gautama Buddha found his five former companions, he taught them, they understood and as a result they also became enlightened. At that time the Sangha, the community of the enlightened ones, was founded. The sermon Buddha gave to the five monks was his first sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It was given on the full-moon day of Asalha Puja. Buddha subsequently also spent his first rainy season at Sarnath at the Mulagandhakuti. The Sangha had grown to 60 in number (after Yasa and his friends had become monks), and Buddha sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma. All 60 monks were Arahants.
Several other incidents connected with the Buddha, besides the preaching of the first sermon, are mentioned as having taken place in Isipatana. Here it was that one day at dawn Yasa came to the Buddha and became an Arahant. It was at Isipatana, too, that the rule was passed prohibiting the use of sandals made of talipot leaves. On another occasion when the Buddha was staying at Isipatana, having gone there from Rājagaha, he instituted rules forbidding the use of certain kinds of flesh, including human flesh. Twice, while the Buddha was at Isipatana, Māra visited him but had to go away discomfited.
A stone pillar marks the spot where the Buddha preached his first sermon. Nearby was another stupa on the site where the Pañcavaggiyas spent their time in meditation before the Buddha's arrival, and another where five hundred Pacceka Buddhas entered Nibbāna. Close to it was another building where the future Buddha Metteyya received assurance of his becoming a Buddha.
Buddhism flourished in Sarnath in part because of kings and wealthy merchants based in Varanasi. By the third century Sarnath had become an important center for the arts, which reached its zenith during the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries CE). In the 7th century by the time Xuan Zang visited from China, he found 30 monasteries and 3000 monks living at Sarnath.
Sarnath became a major centre of the Sammatiya school of Buddhism, one of the early Buddhist schools. However, the presence of images of Heruka and Tara indicate that Vajrayana Buddhism was (at a later time) also practiced here. Also images of Brahminist gods as Shiva and Brahma were found at the site, and there is still a Jain temple (at Chandrapuri) located very close to the Dhamekh Stupa.
At the end of the 12th century Sarnath was sacked by Turkish Muslims, and the site was subsequently plundered for building materials.
Sarnath has been developed as a place of pilgrimage, both for Buddhists from India and abroad. A number of countries in which Buddhism is a major (or the dominant) religion, among them Thailand, Japan, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, have established temples and monasteries in Sarnath in the style that is typical for the respective country. Thus, pilgrims and visitors have the opportunity to experience an overview of Buddhist architecture from various cultures.
WIKIPEDIA
Ok, I lied. THIS is the last ornament of the year, blame it on perfectionism…always the bane of my existence. I emptied the trash in the craft room Friday, and with it went all the evidence of my long trial-and-error process with acrylic paint (stir sticks, drip cups, etc.) that I suffered with my Carousel ornament. I wanted to see if I could accomplish this with less headache the second time around using all the tips and tricks I learned. [SPOILER: I DID!]
20 hours from the first step until I felt comfortable capping the ornament—much more efficient than my sloppy first attempt that spanned several days. Boiled down to the basics, it’s a matter of evaporating water from an enclosed area.
Ok, so now I have this off-white ornament, what to do with it? I went through my folders for show ornament designs I’ve drafted to see if I already had a way to use this ornament. When I came to She Loves Me, I knew I had a contender even though I originally thought to replicate the color pattern from the 2016 revival.
This is a musical from the 1930s based on a Hungarian play. It was adapted for film twice in the 1940s—once with Jimmy Stewart, and again with Judy Garland. You might know the story from a little movie that came out in 1998 starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Clearly, it’s one of those simple feel-good stories that adjusts to any time period.
A pro-shot of the 2016 Broadway revival is available on BroadwayHD—and even if it didn’t star Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski, and Gavin Creel, the pro-shot is worth watching for the Tony-winning set design alone (but it also has all those great artists, so it is seriously worth a watch).
About the Ornament
This is a smaller ornament than I usually work with, so I kept the design pretty simple given the limited real estate. The front and back are based on the 2016 revival poster/playbill.
When I first started working with vinyl, I didn’t know what types of materials/brands would be best to work with—and especially starting from nothing, I ended up purchasing some variety packs of assorted vinyl colors and patterns. The vinyl isn’t the greatest quality and doesn’t always cut well, but it got me started and I still occasionally pull from those materials if I want a color or texture that I wouldn’t use enough to buy an entire roll of the good stuff. That’s where this magenta glitter vinyl came from. It doesn’t cut very well, and the layers separate—it truly is a wonder that beginner-me didn’t get so frustrated working with this stuff that I gave up trying to work with vinyl at all. I used chrome gold foil for an accent color on the more intricate cuts because it’s such a nice, easy material to work with and I needed the break!
The bow is made from an antique gold faux silk ribbon with some satin magenta ribbon attached to the edges. Now, seriously, this is truly the last Broadway-themed ornament I’ll finish in 2022.
UNESCO Tentative List;
whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5406/
Aphrodisias lies in southwestern Turkey, in the fertile valley of the Dandalas River, a tributary of the Meander, about 150 kilometres east (inland) of the Aegean Sea. It is situated at the base of the Babadag mountain range, at 500 m above sea level. The city was the capital of the ancient Roman province of Caria.
The ancient city of Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Greek and Roman periods in Turkey. Famous in antiquity for its sanctuary of Aphrodite, the city's patron goddess, Aphrodisias enjoyed a long and prosperous existence from the second century B.C. through the sixth century A.D. Today, many of the city's ancient monuments remain standing, and excavations have unearthed numerous fine marble statues and other artifacts. The great beauty and extraordinary preservation of this site combine to bring the civic culture of the Greco-Roman world vividly to life.
Aphrodisias was founded on the site of an ancient local sanctuary in the second century B.C., according to the date of the earliest coins and inscriptions found in the site. In the late first century B.C., the city came under the personal protection of the Roman emperor Augustus, and a long period of growth and good fortune ensued. The first several centuries A.D. were especially prosperous, and most of the surviving buildings of the city date to this period. In the fourth century, Aphrodisias became the capital of the Roman province of Caria. The cosmopolitan character of the age is demonstrated by the presence in this city of an active Jewish community, attested in a famous inscription listing benefactors of the local Synagogue.
The first systematic excavations at the site were begun in 1961 under the aegis of New York University, and yielded many remains of the city's central monuments. In addition to the Temple of Aphrodite, major areas of investigation included the Bouleuterion or Council House, and the Sebasteion. The Sebasteion, a religious sanctuary dedicated to Aphrodite and the Roman emperors, is one of the most remarkable discoveries of Roman archaeology. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman imperial cult complex, and is decorated with an extraordinary series of life-size marble reliefs (originally almost 200), which depict Roman emperors and imperial family members from ca. A.D. 20 to 60, as well as, personifications of the subject peoples of the Roman empire, and mythological heroes and gods. The reliefs provide an unparalleled insight into how Roman imperial power was understood from a local perspective. Other important public buildings are the Theatre, the Hadrianic Baths, and the Stadium; the latter seated 30,000 people, and is the best-preserved of all ancient stadiums. The buildings of the site are remarkable not only for the preservation of their architecture, but also for the many inscriptions, statues, reliefs, and other objects associated with them.
Aphrodisias is well-known for its fine sculpture. Good marble quarries are located only a few kilometres away from the city, and by the Late Hellenistic period, a strong local tradition of marble sculpture had already taken root. In later generations, Aphrodisian sculptors are known to have worked abroad on prestigious commissions, for example, at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. The sculpture from the site is characterized by virtuosity and variety. Excavation has uncovered statues of, for example, gods, heroes, emperors, orators, philosophers, and boxers, as well as a great range of ornamental and figured relief. The finds range from grave reliefs of the second century B.C. to statues of the last Roman governors of the sixth century A.D. Many sculptures from the site already occupy key positions in the history of ancient art.
The studies for a site management plan were started according to a protocol between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Geyre Foundation dated to 08.11.2007.
Existence de edward bond au théâtre des argonautes à marseille
mise en scène francine eymery, collaboration artistique et scénographique jean-pierre girard
avec lionel barathieu et frédéric josse
eSSeNcE / ExiStEnCe
La esencia, aquello que nos define, es lo que construimos nosotros mismos mediante nuestros actos.
Sartre
The essence, that defines us, is what we built by themselves with our acts.
Sartre
in Paul Auster's book "The Brooklyn Follies", Hotel Existence is a place, created in imaginations of the main characters.
It's pictured as a place to which they can escape from the boredom of everyday life and world .....
P.S:
My English used to be much better :)))))))
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
Existence de edward bond au théâtre des argonautes à marseille
mise en scène francine eymery, collaboration artistique et scénographique jean-pierre girard
avec lionel barathieu et frédéric josse
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
Existence de edward bond au théâtre des argonautes à marseille
mise en scène francine eymery, collaboration artistique et scénographique jean-pierre girard
avec lionel barathieu et frédéric josse
GiftzBag came into existence in 2015 that has grown to be the Largest Gifting website in India in the last 5 years. 'GiftzBag is a platform to provide online cake, 100% egg less cake , flowers, chocolates, teddy, gifts, personalize gifts & other Gifting items delivery in India. Giftzbag is the biggest gifting solution provider company with presence in over 120+ cities in India.
Chaos Theory gig (01.05.15) at the Black Heart, Candem
Check here for more pictures of the same night.
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
The existence of a wooden church on the current site can be dated as far back as 675.
Robert de Brus I gained control of the area in around 1119. In the late 1100s the de Brus family build the manor house and chapel. The chapel remains as the basis of the St Mary Magdalene Church, which has undergone significant modification since it was built,.
In 1596 Ellen Thompson was condemned as a witch and buried under the stile of St Mary Magdalene church at the east entrance to the churchyard. Another woman, known as Old Mother Midnight of Elwick, may have been buried in the same place in 1641.
St Georg fighting the dragon
Bad Segeberg owes its existence to the "Kalkberg", a gypsum rock, that was about 120m high in the middle ages. This was the borderland between Saxons and Slavs, so Knud Lavard, Danish prince and Jarl (Earl) of Schleswig, unsuccessfully tried to build a castle here. Vizelin, the missionary of the Varrians and Abotrites, drew the attention of Emperor Lothair III to the strategic importance of the Kalkberg, whereupon the first castle was built on it in 1134. This was named "Siegesburg" (hence Segeberg).
After Emperor Lothar III had died, Slavic chief Pribislav of Wagria rebelled against the Holy Roman Empire by destroying the new castle of Segeberg.
Vicelin had founded a monastery around 1134 what was given destroyed together with the castle during Slavic raids. The monks had fled, but they did return and the foundation stone of a huge three-nave cruciform basilica with an adjoining monastery was laid around 1156/57. In 1199, the monastery church was named "eccl. S. Maria" in a Papal document, indicating that it had been consecrated in the meantime.
The later addition of a tower and a portal to the west of the church is dated to the 13th century.
The Reformation found early acceptance in Segeberg. As early as the 1520s, the first Lutheran pastors preached here. Until the dissolution of the canonry in 1564/66 the interior of the church was divided into two separate areas - for the remaining canons (in the Gothic east choir) and the Lutheran parish (in the west nave). The east choir, unused since 1564, was no longer maintained and was left to decay.
The entire nave was under renovation and closed off with large wooden panels. We could only enter the transept. A photo of the folding altar was stuck on the wall behind the temporary altar. On the right, under tarpaulins, the stairway to the pulpit.
States of Existence developed during the winter & spring terms by the 2015 Choreography Workshop students, includes both solo and group work that focus on the idea of the individual in relation to 'other.' The following question is presented: How is individual identity created? To see more about Knox's Dance program: www.knox.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/dance
The existence of the estate in its current form goes back over 230 years to its creator Thomas Harley. But since then only two other families have owned the property; the Rodneys and the Cawleys.
Berrington was essentially created by one man, Thomas Harley, who bought the estate around 1775. He made his fortune as a banker and government contractor in London, but had long family links with Herefordshire, to which, in his mid-40s, he was keen to retire from the hurly-burly of City politics.
Harley commissioned ‘Capability’ Brown to lay out the park, which has spectacular views west towards Wales and the Black Mountains. Around 1778 he also called in Brown’s son-in-law, Henry Holland, to design him a new house in the latest French influenced Neo-classical style, using the finest London craftsman.
Harley had no male heir, but was delighted when in 1781 his daughter Anne married the son of Admiral Lord Rodney, a great naval commander.
On Harley’s death in 1804, Berrington passed to the Rodney family, who lived there for the next 95 years. Unfortunately George, the 7th Lord Rodney lost the family wealth in the late 19th century; first selling off furniture and paintings. He was finally forced to sell the house in 1901.
The house was purchased in 1901 by Frederick Cawley MP (later to become Lord Cawley), a wealthy Lancashire cotton finisher who bought a new lease of life to Berrington. He redecorated the house with considerable sympathy and many of his schemes still survive. He replaced ugly Victorian fire grates with more appropriate Georgian models but otherwise did little to disturb Holland’s beautiful original design.
It was in this cherished state that the house came to the National Trust in 1957 in part payment for death duties for the second Lord Cawley.
I want to reach You,
who am I,
who are You,
In deep essence of me
I feel Im not alone
You bend the time,
Omnipresent
in space, world,
I want to reach You
Reach me and whole my existence...
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism in British English, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3][4]
Philosophical skepticism is one important 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 urge us to 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.[5]
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, providence, and revelation.[6] Scientific skepticism advocates for testing beliefs for reliability, by subjecting them to systematic investigation using the scientific method, to discover empirical evidence for them.
Definition and semantic field
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism (from the Greek σκέπτομαι skeptomai, to search, to think about or look for), refers to a doubting attitude toward knowledge claims.[2][7] 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.[2] Skepticism about a claim implies that one does not 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".[8] It is often motivated by the impression that one cannot be certain about it. This is especially relevant when there is significant expert disagreement.[9] Skepticism is usually restricted to a claim or a field of inquiry. So religious and 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.[9]
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 peace of mind or because it is morally better.[2][10] 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.[2]
Skepticism is related to various terms. It is sometimes equated with agnosticism and relativism.[4][11][12] However, there are slight differences in meaning. Agnosticism is often understood more narrowly as skepticism about religious questions, in particular, about the Christian doctrine.[11] 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.[13] The opposite of skepticism is dogmatism, which implies an attitude of certainty in the form of an unquestioning belief.[14] A similar contrast is often drawn in relation to blind faith and credulity.[3]
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.[2][7][9] For example, religious skeptics distrust religious doctrines and 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.[2][7] A closely related classification distinguishes based on the source of knowledge, such as skepticism about perception, memory, or intuition.[15] 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.[2]
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".[3][4] 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.[2][7]
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.[8] Almost everyone shows some form of ordinary skepticism, for example, by doubting the knowledge claims made by flat earthers or astrologers.[2][7] 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".[8][16] It is taken seriously in philosophy nonetheless because it has proven very hard to conclusively refute philosophical skepticism.[2][8]
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.[14][17] 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.[3][14] In the history of philosophy, skepticism has often played a productive role not just for skeptics but also for non-skeptical philosophers.[2][7][18] 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.[2][7] 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.[7] Skepticism has been an important topic throughout the history of philosophy and is still widely discussed today.[2]
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Main article: 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 Moggallāna, were initially students of the Ajñana philosopher Sanjaya Belatthiputta. A strong element of skepticism is found in Early Buddhism, most particularly in the 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.[19][full citation needed]
In Greece, philosophers as early as Xenophanes (c. 570–c. 475 BCE) expressed skeptical views, as did Democritus[20] 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.[21] The Heraclitean philosopher Cratylus refused to discuss anything and would merely wriggle his finger, claiming that communication is impossible since meanings are constantly changing.[22]: 449 Socrates also had skeptical tendencies, claiming to know nothing worthwhile.[23]
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 (c. 360–270 BCE). The second was Academic Skepticism, so-called because its two leading defenders, Arcesilaus (c. 315–240 BCE) who initiated the philosophy, and Carneades (c. 217–128 BCE), the philosophy's most famous proponent, were heads of Plato's Academy. Pyrrhonism's aims are psychological. It urges suspension of judgment (epoche) to achieve mental tranquility (ataraxia). The Academic Skeptics denied that knowledge is possible (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.[22]: 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 the second or third century CE. His works contain a lucid summary of stock skeptical arguments.
Ancient skepticism faded out during the late Roman Empire, particularly after Augustine (354–430 CE) attacked the skeptics in his work Against the Academics (386 CE). 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.[24] A number of Catholic writers, including Francisco Sanches (c. 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).[25]: 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.[25]: 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."[22]: 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.[22]: 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.[2] 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.[26]
Religion
Main article: 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."[27]
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.[28]
In al-Ma'arri's later years he chose to stop consuming meat and all other animal products (i.e., he became a practicing vegan). He wrote:[26]
Do not unjustly eat fish the water has given up, and do not
desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals,
Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught for
their young, not for noble ladies.
And do not grieve the unsuspecting birds by taking their eggs;
for injustice is the worst of crimes.
And spare the honey which the bees get industriously
from the flowers of fragrant plants;
For they did not store it that it might belong to others, nor did
they gather it for bounty and gifts.
I washed my hands of all this; and wish that I had perceived
my way before my hair went gray![27]Although he was an advocate of social justice and action, Al-Ma'arrî believed that children should not be conceived, in order to spare future generations the pains of life. Moreover, very original compared to his background, he was an ascetic and vegetarian5 and defended vegetarianism and animals with sincerity, based on his interpretations of the Quran11 and his own reasoning. In November 2007, his work was banned from display at the International Book Fair of Algiers (SILA) by order of the Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs and Waqfs.
In 2013, the statue that had been erected to him in Maaret el-Noomane, his birthplace, was thrown off its pedestal and decapitated by an armed jihadist group
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 testable. Most scientists, being scientific skeptics, test the reliability of certain kinds of claims by subjecting them to systematic investigation via the scientific method.[29] As a result, 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.[30]