In theology and philosophy, probabilism (from Latin probare, to test, approve) is an ancient Greek doctrine of academic skepticism.
In ancient Greek philosophy, probabilism referred to the doctrine which gives assistance in ordinary matters to one who is skeptical in respect of the possibility of real knowledge: it supposes that though knowledge is impossible, a man may rely on strong beliefs in practical affairs.
[2] In modern usage, a probabilist is someone who believes that central epistemological issues are best approached using probabilities.
[citation needed] Probabilist doctrines continue to be debated in the context of artificial general intelligence, as a counterpoint to the use of non-monotonic logic, as the proper form for knowledge representation remains unclear.
It was heavily criticised by Blaise Pascal in his Provincial Letters[3] and by St. Alphonsus Ligourí in his Theologia Moralis,[4] as leading to moral laxity.