Cartesian Skepticism

Cartesian skepticism, named after philosopher René Descartes, is the philosophical approach that questions whether we can truly know anything with absolute certainty. It examines the possibility that our perceptions, thoughts, and experiences might be unreliable—like dreams or illusions—making it difficult to distinguish what is genuinely real. Descartes used this doubt as a starting point to find a foundation for certain knowledge, famously concluding that even if we doubt everything, the very act of doubting proves we exist as thinking beings (“I think, therefore I am”). This skepticism challenges us to critically evaluate the nature and limits of our knowledge.