Masih ingat betul, dalam sebuah stadium general seorang guru SMU saya berkata (berteriak lebih tepatnya); “Dalam urusan keimanan, paling pertama kita harus yakin dan percaya, tapi dalam mencari kebenaran kita harus ragu!” Saya tidak menyukai ucapannya saat itu, walau dalam hati mengakui kebenarannya, karena saya tahu ada maksud lain dibalik ucapannya. Itulah pertama kalinya saya bersentuhan dengan filosofi skeptis.

Sebelumnya coba kita lihat sedikit definisi dan sejarah dari skeptisisme tersebut.

skepticism (skĕp`tĭsĭzəm) [Gr.,=to reflect], philosophic position holding that the possibility of knowledge is limited either because of the limitations of the mind or because of the inaccessibility of its object.

It is more loosely used to denote any questioning attitude.

Extreme skepticism holds that no knowledge is possible, but this is logically untenable since the statement contradicts itself.

The first important skeptical view was held by Democritus, who saw sense perception as no certain guide to objective reality.

The Sophists were the earliest group of skeptics. Protagoras taught the relativity of knowledge, andGorgias held that either nothing could be known, or if anything were known, it could not be communicated.

Pyrrho, regarded as the father of skepticism, later held a similarly extreme position, seeing reality as inaccessible.

Arcesilaus taught that certitude is impossible and only probable knowledge is attainable. In the Renaissance, skepticism is seen in the writings of Michel de Montaigne, Pierre Charron, and Blaise Pascal. For René Descartes skepticism was a methodology that allowed him to arrive at certain incontrovertible truths.

At the end of the 17th cent., Pierre Bayle skeptically challenged philosophical and theological theories. David Hume, a leading modern skeptic, challenged established assumptions about the self, substance, and causality.

The skeptical aspect of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy is exemplified by his agnosticism; his antinomies of reason demonstrate that certain problems are insoluble by reason.

To some degree skepticism manifests itself in the scientific method, which demands that all things assumed as facts be questioned. But the positivism of many scientists, whether latent or open, is incompatible with skepticism, for it accepts without question the assumption that material effect is impossible without material cause.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Skeptikoi

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Wikipedia

Contemporary skepticism (or scepticism) is loosely used to denote any questioning attitude,^[1] or some degree of doubt regarding claims that are elsewhere taken for granted.^[2]

The word skepticism can characterise a position on a single claim, but in scholastic circles more frequently describes a lasting mind-set. Skepticism is an approach to accepting, rejecting, or suspending judgment on new information that requires the new information to be well supported by evidence.^[3] Individuals who proclaim to have a skeptical outlook are frequently called skeptics, often without regard to whether it is philosophical skepticism or empirical skepticism that they profess.^[4]

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism}

Dan semenjak membaca buku Black Swan, soalan skeptisisme ini kembali mengisi pikiran saya. Dari situ juga, ada bagian yang saya garisbawahi dari kutipan diatas, yaitu; Skepticism is an approach to accepting, rejecting, or suspending judgment on new information that requires the new information to be well supported by evidence.

Pembuktian apa yang harus diaplikasikan terlebih dahulu untuk mengujinya? Pembuktian bahwa hal tersebut salah, atau pembuktian kebenarannya. Seperti istilah END ‘Evidence of No Disease’ dalam dunia kedokteran, bukannya NED ‘No Evidence of Disease’.

Kendati demikian, ada pengecualian. Di antara mereka ada pemain catur papan atas, yang, seperti telah dibuktikan, sesungguhnya berfokus pada apakah sebuah langkah spekulatif akan menghasilkan posisi yang lemah, sebagai perbandingan, para pemain pemula cenderung mencari pembuktian-pembuktian kebenaran, alih-alih pembuktian kesalahan. Namun jangan bermain catur untuk mempraktikkan skeptisisme. Kalangan ilmuwan percaya bahwa pencarian kelemahan itulah yang telah menjadikan mereka pemain catur papan atas, bukan kebiasaan bermain catur yang mengubah mereka menjadi orang skeptik. Begitu pula, spekulator George Soros, ketika melakukan pertaruhan finansialnya, terus memperhatikan kejadian-kejadian yang akan membuktikan bahwa teori awalnya salah. Barangkali inilah yang disebut percaya diri sejati: kemampuan memandang dunia tanpa perlu mencari sesuatu untuk menyanjung diri sendiri.

Buku Black Swan terjemahan Indonesia–bab Konfirmasi Informasi Halaman 79

Jadi, setelah tertarik mengenai skeptisisme, metode pembuktian mana yang kita pilih?

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