Unthinkable

In this session, we’ll explore Barry Stroud’s influential essay The Problem of the External World. Stroud examines one of philosophy’s most persistent questions: how can we know anything about the world beyond our own experiences.

Building on classic skeptical arguments (like the possibility that we might be dreaming), Stroud challenges our assumptions about knowledge, certainty, and reality. Rather than offering a simple solution, he reveals why skepticism is so difficult to fully answer, and why it continues to trouble philosophers today.

We’ll discuss questions such as

• Can we really know that the external world exists?
• How do skeptical scenarios (like dreaming) challenge knowledge?
• Is it possible to refute skepticism, or only live with it?

In this session, we’ll explore G. E. Moore’s famous essay Proof of an External World, one of the most bold and surprising responses to skepticism in philosophy

Using a simple but striking argument—literally holding up his hands and saying “here is one hand, and here is another”—Moore attempts to prove that external objects exist. His claim is that such everyday knowledge is more certain than the skeptical doubts that challenge it.

Rather than refuting skepticism on its own terms, Moore turns the tables, arguing that common sense may already give us all the proof we need

We’ll discuss questions such as

• Can something as simple as “here is a hand” count as a proof
• Is common sense stronger than philosophical skepticism
• Does Moore actually defeat skepticism—or just ignore it