Skepticism (n.) is a necessary condition of all empiricism: the object-thinker distrusts every idea so that each object may speak for itself — while the force with which an unconscious idea realizes itself makes the idea-thinker look dogmatic.
Skepticism (n.) is often only a misplaced compensation for powerful superstitious impulses — the critic who makes a fetish of his theory.
Skepticism (n.) should be levelled only at incorrect theories, never at facts that exist in their own right.
Skepticism (n.) is not always a sign of intelligence — often a cloak for having no Weltanschauung, and a moral rather than intellectual failure: you cannot see the world without seeing yourself, and that takes courage.
Skepticism (n.) throws modern man back on himself: his energies flow back to their source, and the collision washes to the surface what always lay hidden in the silt.