# How good is radical skepticism? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 14, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132 "2017-03-14T03:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132/61 "2017-03-19T14:02:58Z")
You know. you are not obligated to try to shoehorn any “philosophy” that comes down the pike into your world view. You are allowed to ignore thoughts or belief systems which are not relevant to your life. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132/62 "2017-03-19T14:51:14Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > The problem with your comment is that it tells me you don’t understand what radical skepticism is. The guy who founded it would have died many times if people didn’t come to his rescue (since he didn’t trust his senses he often got into dangerous situations). It is borderline suicidal Why are you taking the time to make sure we discuss why an old form of a belief system is such a bad thing and will lead to deaths? ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132/63 "2017-03-19T16:14:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Why are you taking the time to make sure we discuss why an old form of a belief system is such a bad thing and will lead to deaths? Because the old form of belief still exists and has people that will try to give it validity. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132/64 "2017-03-19T16:41:38Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Because the old form of belief still exists and has people that will try to give it validity. Thank gosh the Philosophy Police are on patrol! ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132/65 "2017-03-19T16:57:19Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > The problem with your comment is that it tells me you don’t understand what radical skepticism is. The guy who founded it would have died many times if people didn’t come to his rescue (since he didn’t trust his senses he often got into dangerous situations). It is borderline suicidal No, I think I get it. One of the proponents of the argument I was advancing earlier got like that- he became so focused on what he discovered that he went into a sort of trance. He was starving, ants were literally eating his legs. He got rescued and later, you could say, moderated his views such that he could go on living. You can find pictures of this guy living his life in what looks like a big diaper, similar to Gandhi- he only moderated so much. It would be a simple thing to write him off as a crazy freak, but the story is that he lived an ecstatic life, in touch with a sort of spiritual reality he found. The wrinkle I guess is that this guy was radically skeptical about everything with one exception. The universe was basically an illusion to this guy, but at the center of it he was very certain of something. I’ll try to come back with some quotes from this guy in response to the starvation/practicality question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-is-radical-skepticism/782132.md?page=3)