Methodological Skepticism and Our Daily Lives

According to Descartes, we are more certain of our thoughts, the content of our minds, than we are of the world around us, and even of mathematical or logical truths. He uses 'methodological skepticism' to reach this conclusion.

What do you think about methodological skepticism? Do we ever follow this procedure in our daily lives, or do we do the opposite. In other words, do we tend to believe things until it becomesimpossible  to believe them, rather than doubting everything we can? If so, does this suggest that methological skepticism is not a good strategy?

Descartes ‘methodological skepticism’ helped lead him to the conclusion “cogito ergo sum” or “I think therefore I am,”which seems to be right on point for me. During Descartes “Meditations on First Philosophy,” he states, “I must finally conclude that this proposition I am, I exist is necessarily true whenever it is put forward by me or conceived in my mind.” What I believe he is saying here is that if we are the very existence that doubts existence then we most certainly exist. He goes on to use the idea of a “malicious demon,” controlling your mind. This seems radical, although his point was that even if there was a demon controlling us, the very fact that we have any doubt shows that we are apart from this “malicious demon.”

 I use a form of ‘methodological skepticism’ in my daily life while practicing my zen meditation, however I must say that I don’t go around speaking about it on a regular basis. I think most people, myself included are not always ready to go around doubting our existence on a daily basis. I do think there are times that ‘methodological skepticism could come in handy in our daily lives if we remember to use it. One example we could keep Descartes method in mind is when dealing with our perceptions of others, and or difficult situations. Many of us tend to believe things until it becomes absolutely impossible not to. One of the most perfect examples is from a report I had recently watched by PBS.org called “Buying the War.” I must admit that the only reason I began watching it was because it was assigned in my philosophy class. Anything in regards to that topic I tend not to want to fill my mind with. Surprisingly enough, I could not stop watching this program. It was both amusing and concerning how every person, including the very liberal reporters of the New York Times were “buying the war” and ignoring their skepticism in order to avoid slander. It became about business, and money rather than seeking and reporting the truth. This is a perfect example of when 'methodological skepticism could have come to good use."