Unleashing Scepticism: Panic Rumours and Philosophical Doubts

Authors: Kristina V and Kristina V

DOI: 10.23880/phij-16000192

Volume 4, Issue 3

Abstract

The goal of the paper is to focus on the phenomenon of a “panic rumour” as an interpretation of a kind of philosophical scepticism, presented by Wittgenstein in his late work, which is coming out of our feeling of unknowability of the social world embedded in our form of life. I claim that the sense of unknowability of others (also referred to as scepticism in a sense V. Das and S. Cavell use it) emerges of confronting boundaries of one’s self and one’s humanity. Sceptical philosophy and violence are two examples of triggers that can unleash it to take a form of a philosophical doubt or a panic rumour. In a way that philosophical scepticism causes doubting everything and destroys every possibility of establishing a language game, panic rumours share the same characteristic of annihilating any context and parasitizing on language itself. That is why I suggest that philosophical doubt and panic rumours are similar in their conduct since both lack a particular context and are so vague, they can fit any context and spread destroying every other language game except their own. 

Keywords: Veena Das; Stanley Cavell; Scepticism; Form of Life; Wittgenstein; Panic Rumour; Philosophical Doubt

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