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Swiss Philosophical Preprint Series Yves Bossart Radikaler Swiss Philosophical Preprint Series # 95 Yves Bossart Radikaler Skeptizismus Pyrrhonische Skepsis, sprachphilosophische Bedenken und pragmatische Tendenzen added 30/05/2012 ISSN 1662-937X © Yves Bossart Radikaler Skeptizismus Pyrrhonische Skepsis, sprachphilosophische Bedenken und pragmatische Tendenzen Masterarbeit zur Erlangung des Mastergrades der Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Luzern vorgelegt von Yves Bossart Luzern Eingereicht am 17.9.2007 1 Inhaltsverzeichnis 0. Einleitung ...........................................................................................................................3 1. Skepsis als Lebenskunst: Pyrrhonismus..........................................................................7 1.1 Orientierungsgrundlage des Pyrrhonikers.....................................................11 1.2 Inkonsistenzvorwürfe an die Dogmatiker....................................................17 1.3 Unbehagen am Repräsentationalismus..........................................................18 1.4 Relativismus.......................................................................................................21 1.5 Praktikabilität: Apraxie- und Aphrasieproblematik .....................................22 1.6 Pragmatistische Tendenzen.............................................................................27 1.7 Natürlichkeit des Zweifels...............................................................................30 Exkurs: David Humes Pyrrhonismus .......................................................................................32 2. Skepsis und Sprachspiel: Ludwig Wittgenstein............................................................33 2.1 Aufgabe und Form der Philosophie..............................................................33 2.2 Lebensform, Weltbild, Sprachspiel................................................................36 2.3 Antiskeptische Einwände................................................................................38 2.3.1 Abweichender Sprachgebrauch des Skeptikers...............................38 2.3.2 Anwendbarkeit skeptischer Überlegungen im Sprachspiel...........40 2.3.3 Euthyphronismus................................................................................43 2.3.4 Kohärentismus und Kontextualismus..............................................47 2.3.5 Externe Fragen und grammatische Sätze........................................50 2.4 Wissensansprüche und unausgesprochene Gewissheiten...........................54 2.5 Skeptizismus als Antifundamentalismus.......................................................61 3. Kontextualismus und Kontrastivismus – zwei kompatibilistische Versuche..........64 3.1 Kontextualismus...............................................................................................65 3.2 Kontrastivismus................................................................................................68 4. Externalistische Antiskepsis............................................................................................71 4.1 Kausale Referenztheorie: Hilary Putnams Gehirne in Tanks ....................72 4.2 Radikale Interpretation: Donald Davidsons allwissender Interpret..........76 5. Skepsis und Pragmatismus: Richard Rorty...................................................................82 5.1.Wahrheit.............................................................................................................83 5.2 Antirepräsentationalismus...............................................................................86 5.3 Theorie als Praxis..............................................................................................89 5.4 Entledigung der traditionellen Skepsis..........................................................91 5.5 Rechtfertigung ohne Objektivität...................................................................95 6. Schlussbemerkungen........................................................................................................99 7. Literaturverzeichnis........................................................................................................101 2 0. Einleitung „Pyrrhonism may have evolved; it is not dead.“ 1 Nach Aristoteles zeichnet den Menschen ein Streben aus, das neblige Dunkel des Nichtwissens hinter sich zu lassen und zum Wissen vorzudringen (πGντες νθρωποι το εδIναι (ρIγονται φσει ).2 Aber was heisst es, etwas zu wissen? Seit Platon versteht man unter Wissen ( πιστKµη ) eine wahre, begründete Meinung ( δOξα ληθJς µετF λOγου ). 3 Wie wissen wir aber, wann eine Meinung wahr ist? Nun, wir versuchen Gründe dafür anzuführen, dass es sich wirklich so verhält, wie wir meinen. Diese Gründe garantieren jedoch selten die Wahrheit des Für-wahr-Gehaltenen. Oft kön- nen berechtigte Zweifel geäussert werden, da die angeführten Gründe nur selten aus- schliessen, dass es sich anders verhält als wir denken. Können wir jedoch nicht aus- schliessen, dass es sich anders verhält, dann sind wir auch nicht sicher, ob wir wirk- lich wissen, wie es sich verhält oder ob wir bloss eine falsche Meinung haben, die wir irrtümlicherweise für wahr halten. Es ist kennzeichnend für einen Skeptiker, dass er immer dieses Schlupfloch des Zweifels sucht. Er benennt Gegenpositionen und versucht sie stark zu machen, wo- durch er den Dogmatiker – verstanden als einen Vertreter von Lehrmeinungen (δOγµατα ) – herausfordert, bessere Gründe für die Wahrheit seiner Position anzufüh- ren. Der Skeptiker ist somit beides: missliebiger Querulant und treibende Kraft einer dogmatischen Philosophie. Als radikaler Skeptiker vertritt er weder Wahrheitsan- sprüche, noch glaubt er, irgend etwas zu wissen. Nicht einmal die agnostische These, man könne nichts wissen, macht er sich zu eigen. Als pyrrhonischer Skeptiker zwei- felt er schliesslich auch daran, dass feste Meinungen und Wissen überhaupt erstre- benswert sind. Er lebt ohne Dogma und in einer kritischen Haltung, erhebt keinerlei Wahrheitsansprüche und orientiert sich an dem, was ihm nützlich scheint. Die diskursive Vorgehensweise des Skeptikers ist überaus vielgestaltig und kontext- abhängig. Im Wesentlichen besteht der skeptische Diskurs in einer Relativierung von Wissensansprüchen, Theorien und Beschreibungsweisen durch die Charakterisierung und Rechtfertigung alternativer Auffassungen. 1 Williams, Scepticism without Theory, 588. 2 Aristoteles, Metaphysik I, 980a21. 3 Platon, Theaitetos, 201d. 3 Das in den Schriften des Sextus Empiricus überlieferte Begründungstrilemma des Agrippa erweckt das vielleicht radikalste Misstrauen gegen Wissensansprüche jegli- cher Art: 4 Ausgangspunkt ist die These, dass jeder Wissensanspruch diskursiv be- gründbar sein soll, da – wie aus den zwei Tropen des Menodot ersichtlich wird – die Evidenz aufgrund ihrer Subjektbezogenheit und Zeitgebundenheit kein allgemeingül- tiges Wahrheitskriterium sein kann und also nichts durch sich selbst als wahr erkannt werden kann ( ο2δHν ξ αυτο καταλαµβGνεται )5. Die zur Firmierung einer These an- geführten Gründe und Argumentationsprämissen sind jedoch in den Augen des Skeptikers ebenso begründungsbedürftig, wie die durch sie zu begründende Aussa- ge. 6 Wenn es dem Skeptiker zu zeigen gelingt, dass die Wahrheit jeder Aussage be- gründungsbedürftig ist, versetzt er den Dogmatiker in eine trilemmatische Aporie: Der Proponent von Geltungsansprüchen ist nun gezwungen, entweder (i) unendlich viele Argumentationsschritte zu durchlaufen ( ) ες πειρον κβαλλν), (ii) die Wahr- heit der Prämissen durch wechselseitige Bezugnahme und damit zirkulär zu begrün- den ( ) διGλληλος ) oder (iii) wahllos bei irgendeiner Behauptung Halt zu machen, die dadurch den Status einer unbegründeten Hypothese aufweist () 3ποθετικOς). Am An- fang der Skepsis steht die Einsicht, dass die eigene Position lediglich als ein Glied eines unaufgelösten Widerstreits zu betrachten ist ( ) πN τς διαφωνMας ) und also nur relative Geltung für sich in Anspruch nehmen kann () πN το πρOς τι). Jeder Ver- such, mehr beanspruchen zu wollen als eine gleichstarke Position innerhalb eines unentschiedenen Konflikts, mündet in die skizzierte trilemmatische Begründungs- aporie. Eine prominente skeptische Strategie, welche die Begründungsbedürftigkeit ver- meintlich evidenter Aussagen hervorkehrt, ist das Fingieren alternativer Szenarien. Im Anschluss an die Entfaltung und Plausibilisierung eines solchen Szenarios wird von Seiten des Skeptikers der Anspruch erhoben, wir würden bzw. könnten nicht wissen, dass wir uns nicht in diesem Szenario befinden. Zumeist ist das entwickelte Szenario so grundlegend verschieden von unserer Wirklichkeitsauffassung, dass unter An- nahme seiner Gültigkeit nicht nur die meisten, sondern auch und gerade die basalsten unserer Überzeugungen als unwahr zu gelten hätten. Wir können – so die skandalö- 4 Sextus Empiricus, Grundzüge der pyrrhonischen Skepsis (PH), I, 164 ff. 5 PH I, 178. 6 In machen Fällen folgt die zu begründende These nicht aus den Prämissen; in solchen Fällen reicht eine logische Analyse und der Hinweis, dass bei induktiven und abduktiven Schlüssen die Wahrheit der Prämissen die Falschheit der Konklusion nicht ausschliesst. 4 se 7 conclusio des Skeptikers – nie ausschliessen, dass unser Überzeugungssystem im Ganzen falsch ist. Der Skeptiker spielt aus Sicht des Dogmatikers die Rolle eines potentiellen Psychotikers, dessen alternative Weltmodelle und Situationsbeschrei- bungen abseitig scheinen, aber dennoch beunruhigend sind, weil es nicht gelingt, sie als blosse Wahnideen auszuweisen.
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