What Is Skepticism?

What Is Skepticism?

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 some degree.

Skepticism is, or should be, an extraordinarily powerful and positive influence on the world. Skepticism is not simply about "debunking" as is commonly charged. Skepticism is about redirecting attention, influence, and funding away from worthless superstitions and toward projects and ideas that are evidenced to be beneficial to humanity and to the world.

The scientific method is central to skepticism. The scientific method requires evidence, preferably derived from validated testing. Anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies generally don't meet the qualifications for scientific evidence, and thus won't often be accepted by a responsible skeptic; which often explains why skeptics get such a bad rap for being negative or disbelieving people. They're simply following the scientific method.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, particularly in claims that are far fetched or that violate physical laws. Skepticism is an essential, and meaningful, component of the search for truth.

Anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies generally don't meet the qualifications for scientific evidence, and thus won't often be accepted by a responsible skeptic; which often explains why skeptics get such a bad rap for being negative or disbelieving people. They're simply following the scientific method.

I suppose the key word in this phrase is reasonable!
I suppose I have spent too much time around some skeptic boards, and frankly the type of person you have outlined doesn't exist there.
Even I can be skeptical at times, but still to me.....skeptic is a dirty word, and from the ones that I have seen, they have no interest in benefiting humanity and the world. If they WERE, they would not condemn spirituality in any form. Yet, they do!

Yes this is horrible, i believe if people are skeptical they may be able to share their points of view without disrupting this forum. Me personally i have never liked the word, it always seemed shallow to me, but when i came across this explanation of what a Skeptic really is, i thought to myself wow my perception's about skeptics were all wrong. But as you stated

Dreamer wrote:I suppose I have spent too much time around some skeptic boards, and frankly the type of person you have outlined doesn't exist there.

I do not know much on this subject but from what i understand this makes a lot of sense, and some people may cause people problems if they were to try and debunk a spiritual side of life. The only reason this Thread/Forum is here is for the few people that come here and have a scientific viewpoint on many matters, in no way are they to harass or force their opinions on anyone.

I really hope that reasonable, people will come and discuss many different scientific views in hopes of us all learning some things. If people follow the outline above then everything should be okay

Many Blessings