Illustration: Diagrams from Dr Alesha Sivartha’s Book of Life (1898)
One of my fellow bloggers, the “Conservative Skeptic,” has invited me to respond to his post titled, “What’s that skepticism thing you’re always going on about?”
https://consskep.com/2019/05/09/what-is-skepticism/
My favorite definition of skepticism is the following:
skepticism
1: an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object
2a: the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain
2b : the method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism characteristic of skeptics
3: doubt concerning basic religious principles (such as immortality, providence, and revelation)
skeptic
1: an adherent or advocate of skepticism
2: a person disposed to skepticism especially regarding religion or religious principles
(Merriam-Webster)
There are different branches of skepticism and I actually enjoy exploring many of them–some more than others.
Examples of major types:
Religious Skepticism—A religious skeptic questions faith-based claims, but a religious skeptic isn’t automatically an atheist. Many people question religion but do not necessarily make a firm decision. Let’s say you were born into a devout Christian family–have you ever wondered if you had been born into a devout Muslim family, would you ultimately find your way to Christianity? If so, you just performed an exercise in religious skepticism.
Of course, a hardcore religious skeptic believes this life is it… ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That same skeptic would, however, be open to the idea of some sort of life beyond death IF evidence emerges (more solid evidence than a reality TV ghost hunters show, let’s say.)
Some of the more well known authors covering this topic are Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great; Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion; or Peter Boghossian, A Manual for Creating Atheists.
Philosophical Skepticism—Philosophical skepticism can be anything from radical skepticism, where final truths are unknowable, to less extreme forms in which we remain humble, not presuming to know it all, but seeking truth through questioning and investigation. This is more my style and I do dabble in it. I avoid making truth claims without thoroughly understanding a subject and backing it up with evidence.
Philosophy may seem far removed from your reality, but if you’ve ever wondered if you were born with a purpose, for example, you just practiced philosophical skepticism. Is knowing something through faith more reliable than knowing something through reason? You just did it again.
Moral Skepticism–How do we decide what’s right and what’s wrong? In the context of atheism, this debate is interesting because if we don’t follow a particular religion with a set of moral rules, where do our morals come from? You may engage in moral skepticism if you debate something like online mobbing or cancel culture–is it morally correct? Or do some people deserve to be publicly shamed and driven out of society?
Jonathan Haidt, Michael Shermer, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett are good examples of authors and public intellectuals who write about and debate these kinds of topics.
Scientific Skepticism–Everyone has practiced scientific skepticism because they had to learn it in school. Scientific skepticism applies scientific inquiry and the scientific method to prove knowledge.
Scientific skepticism includes debunkers such as Martin Gardner, the Amazing Randi, Penn & Teller or the popular “Mythbusters.” It also questions pseudoscience claims such as homeopathy. Have you ever wondered about whether you should go visit a psychic to find direction in your life but you’ve also heard they might be frauds? You just practiced scientific skepticism–and hopefully, you will look into that a bit further. In fact, some states have laws prohibiting fortune telling or predicting the future, if that gives you any clue as to the legitimacy.
Negative impressions of “skepticism” in pop culture:
In pop culture, the designation “skeptic” has been employed by some YouTubers in a way I can’t quite figure out, because they are generally what I would call not much more than vehement Anti-SJWs. (SJW is now considered a derogatory term meaning Social Justice Warriors.) I am not sure when this came about, but I don’t find it to be a proper use of the term and I think it presents skepticism in a negative and reactionary light that would not reflect the truer form of skepticism.
There are also some definitions of “Skeptic” in Urban Dictionary that also portray skeptics as some pretty awful people.
Examples:
–Colloquially refers to a pseudo intellectual cynic who hides behind the ruse of critical thinking to support their lack of belief in anything they haven’t read in Scientific American.
–They think they know everything about everything when in actuality a skeptic is the mirror image of the people they despise because they believe what they want to believe despite evidence to the contrary.
–A narrow minded individual who thinks viewing everything in a highly critical and suspicious lens makes him/her smart. This behavior only serves to make the individual look like a poser intellectual, and a prick who takes the fun out of everything.
–A pseudo-critical thinker and intellectual wannabe. Generally exhibits the following markings:
1. a tendency to completely misunderstand intellectual concepts such as burden shifting in a debate;
2. holding out as an authority on subjects about which he or she has no training or expertise;
3. an inability to respond to any argument or evidence beyond bleating tired cliches memorized from JREF web forums, “Amazing Meetings” or from such intellectual “giants” as Richard Dawkins, James Randi, and their ilk;
4. a slavish devotion to science, despite not having seriously, or even not at all, pursued an education or career in a given discipline;
5. a killjoy with a supernatural ability to suck the fun and life out of any gathering of people simply by entering the room.
Used in a sentence:
Oh God, here comes Frank the skeptic. Let’s get out of here before he starts bloviating about “the rampant rise of irrationality in society,” and kills the party for everybody.
Possible synonyms: gullible, annoying, know it all, poser, loser, punk, asshole, killjoy.
Hopefully, I have shown a side of skepticism that elevates us above “annoying punk prick know-it-alls” when in fact, a true skeptic will, I hope, reserve judgment, stay humble, ask questions and seek truth though evidence-based claims that back up any conclusions they may draw or make.
On that note, I am going to turn this debate back over to Jim!