Skepticism

In brief, I'm lecturing on an article that criticizes the standard skepticism of Hume (the position that we must reluctantly, grumpily, taciturnly accept Skepticism as a position - shit folks, we cannot be 100% certain, Heisenberg taught us that) in a standard fashion. It says - what is this skepticism stance when it's claim to doubt becomes meaningless. Run it through this example:

There is a book in front of me.
How do you know?
I can touch it.
Why do you trust your sense of touch?
Other people verify it. AND I can see it, it fits the definition of a book etc...
Yes, but couldn't you be in doubt?

Here the argument can get quite sophisticated - the short answer is "Sure you can still doubt - there is always some doubt. The standard argument against this is as follows:
Stating that an event (it will rain tomorrow without evidence) is probable and ALSO stating that an event (it will rain tomorrow with very strong evidence to support it) is probable is a verbal manipulation that leaves you nowhere. Why not allow the word "certain" in cases where it is most certainly true? When there is multiple, strong, clear evidence to advocate for it's truth? It's possible that the computer I am writing from will POOF! out of existence - no list of propositions that I can write (as known) would be contradictory to the event of it POOF!ing....but waiting for such a list to be possible leads you into an idiodic semantic battle.

This seems at the front, fairly convincing. We should talk about some things as probable (say Evolution or Intelligent Design) and other things as certain (say, the conservation of energy). It's USEFUL!

But what this argument doesn't do is adequately criticize the classical formulations of Skepticism. It posits that there is a position/stance: Skepticism. When in fact, the Greek skeptics, Descartes even Hume often advocate for skepticism as an ability or skill. Skepticism isn't a position one adopts, or a title for an individual in an absolute sense: Joel is a skeptic - meaning Joel refuses to talk about something as certain. Rather skepticism is a mode of being, or mode of thought: Joel is being skeptical or Joel is a skeptic (as someone who is often engaged in the mode of being skeptical). Skepticism is a way, as Sextus Empiricus writes - that leads one to tranquility or as the Chuangtzu advocates - puts one in harmony with the world.