Skepticism, in the most general terms, is an attitude of questioning or doubt towards claims of fact or truth or to the expression of opinions about what ought to be done. Coined form the Greek root skepsis, meaning enquiry, skepticism is a school of philosophy that can inform our approach to many subjects of more tangible debate including science, religion, and politics.
Philosophical skepticism tends to circle around the idea that there is no such thing as certainty about a fact or truth claim. In its extreme, this leads to ideas that can be formulated in phrases like “No truth is knowable.” This statement, of course, is a self-contradictory claim. The attitude behind this idea, however, is a potent one: We should strive to examine claims to know the truth behind them.
In practice, the idea skepticism can be a powerful one. The Scientific Method -- involving making observations, forming hypotheses about them, and testing those hypotheses for their predictive or truth values -- is a skeptical method, allowing us to evaluate our experiences and ideas to see how true they are. This practical application of skepticism can also help us examine the claims of pseudoscience and expose frauds for what they are.
Likewise, we can apply these rational, skeptical tests to the claims of religious or political groups and leaders. We can see what sort of truth there is to the claims put forth by these sorts of groups and help evaluate whether they are helpful to society or not.
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