Question

The idea you are referring to is commonly known as Last Thursdayism or Last Thursday hypothesis. It's a philosophical concept that suggests the universe and everything in it, including memories and evidence of the past, could have been created recently, even as recently as last Thursday, giving the appearance of age and history. This notion is often used to illustrate the challenges of extreme skepticism and the difficulty of disproving unfalsifiable claims about the past.

Last Thursdayism is an extreme form of skepticism that questions the reliability of our perceptions and memories, proposing that they could have been created instantaneously along with the rest of the universe. While it is often used humorously or as a thought experiment, it underscores the limitations of certain philosophical positions and highlights the practicality of living life based on the assumption that our perceptions reflect a genuine reality, despite the unfalsifiability of some skeptical scenarios. What is the philosophical concept that proposes the idea that the universe, including memories and evidence of the past, might have been created recently, such as last Thursday?

A) Omphalism
B) Last Thursdayism
C) Cartesian skepticism
D) Descartes' evil genius hypothesis

Answer 1

Last Thursdayism is the philosophical concept that suggests the universe and everything in it could have been created recently, giving the appearance of age and history.

Step-by-step explanation:

The philosophical concept that proposes the idea that the universe, including memories and evidence of the past, might have been created recently, such as last Thursday, is commonly known as Last Thursdayism.

It suggests that the universe and everything in it could have been created recently, giving the appearance of age and history.

Last Thursdayism is often used to illustrate the challenges of extreme skepticism and the difficulty of disproving unfalsifiable claims about the past.