What is Skepticism?
What does it mean to be a skeptic? Some people believe that skepticism is rejection of new ideas, or worse, they confuse “skeptic” with “cynic” and think that skeptics are a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons unwilling to accept any claim that challanges the status quo. This is wrong. Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. It is the application of reason to any and all ideas — no sacred cows allowed. In other words, skepticism is a method, not a position. Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibilities that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are “skeptical,” we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe. When we hear a fantastic claim or position of belief we say, “That’s nice, now prove it.
Skepticism is a word used to refer to a variety of positions. There are three main types of skepticism: philosophical skepticism, or Pyrrhonism, scientific skepticism, and religious skepticism. Sometimes these different varieties of skepticism may overlap. In common use, the word “skepticism” most often refers to scientific skepticism. Scientific skeptics question certain claims by testing them through experiment. Common claims targeted by scientific skeptics includes the efficacy of homeopathy and other New Age therapies, the existence of ESP/telekensis and telepathy, the plausibility of supernatural beings (ghosts, poltergeists, angels, and gods), cryptozoology such as the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, alien visitations and associated phenomena, creationism, conspiracy theories, claims of pop psychology, and more. The task of the scientific skeptic is to debunk “cherished nonsense” — claims that continue to be believed despite ample evidence to the contrary. Philosophical skepticism
Brian Dunning at skeptoid.com emphasizes the critical thinking, scientific approach to skepticism. Skeptoid is a weekly critical thinking essay-style podcast that hones in on one particular topic of interest and examines it from a skeptical perspective. Among other things, this definition is a little more permissive than many with respect to belief and religion, inviting more folks into the fold on the condition of critical thought and scientific analysis: Many skeptics are deeply religious, and are satisfied with the reasoning process that led them there. Skeptics apply critical thinking to different aspects of their lives in their own individual way. Everyone is a skeptic to some degree.[1] Karen Stollznow at Bad Langauge starts her analysis of the Skeptic’s dilemma with the common plea that Skepticism does not equate to cynicism, and attempts to debunk the fundamental misconception that Skeptics are curmudgeons who would rather poo-poo the world. In reality, Skepticism is about appr
To quote Dr. Shermer: Skepticism is not a position; it’s a process. The popular misconception is that skeptics, or critical thinkers, are people who disbelieve things. And indeed, the common usage of the word skeptical supports this: “He was skeptical of the numbers in the spreadsheet”, meaning he doubted their validity. To be skeptical, therefore, is to be negative about things and doubt or disbelieve them. The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It’s the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion. It’s thus inaccurate to say “Skeptics don’t believe in ghosts.” Some do. Many skeptics are deeply religious, and are satisfied with the reasoning process that led them there. Skeptics apply critical thinking to different aspects of their lives in their own individual way. Everyone is a skeptic to
Skepticism, a form of evidence-based reasoning, is a way of knowing that weighs evidence and prior plausibility in determining if a claim is true. It doesn’t mean simply denying anything that goes against preconceived notions, as the popular usage suggests. A skeptic would happily change his/her mind on a subject if there is strong evidence to the contrary. Skeptics simply demand evidence for any claim, taking nothing at face value. Learning how to foster a skeptical outlook can make it less likely that a person will be scammed by fraudsters or fall for unproven or non-evidence-based pseudoscience, scientific or historical denialism, and supernaturalism.
