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3.2: Skepticism
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- Page ID 67157
- Jim Marteney
- Los Angeles Valley College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)
Our first step involves being skeptical of new ideas and arguments. When someone tells you something or you read it over the internet or see it on television, are you more likely to believe it or disbelieve it? As long as it does not clash with previous beliefs we hold, science suggests that we are more likely to accept new information. In fact, in order to understand a new concept our minds must first accept the concept to even understand what it means.
In a landmark 1991 paper, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert proposed that we process information in two steps. First, we accept information as true, and then we interrogate whether it may actually be false. In other words, we let the Trojan horse past the gate before we check to see if it’s full of Greek soldiers. “Humans,” wrote Gilbert, are “very credulous creatures who find it very easy to believe and very difficult to doubt.”
Cognitive Science Offers Tools To Rebuff Climate Deniers 1
As Dan Gilbert argues, understanding a new idea requires two steps.
- Accept that the new information is accurate to understand the new ideas.
- Once the ideas are understood, then test them to see if they are accurate.
Silence Does Not Always Mean Consent, Especially in Romance
Silence means consent is not an actual legal term and should not actually be relied on for all situations. This is especially accurate when “romance” is involved. More and more social situations, however, demand that if romantic advances are being made by an individual, that person must receive an affirmation of those advances before the romance is continued. Silence here does not mean consent.
But as you might imagine, once we accept the accuracy of a concept it becomes a challenge to then reject it. Since we are naturally prone to accept new information, our human nature is not to be initially skeptical. Being skeptical is a skill we must develop.
Our skepticism skill is challenged even more when we are presented with many “lies.” Again, Jeremy Deaton writes:
- It takes energy to scrutinize a lie.
- It takes more energy to scrutinize it when we hear that lie again and again.
- We don’t like to scrutinize a lie that supports our worldview. 2
There is a misconception over what it means to be skeptical and I am guessing that now is a good time to clearly define what it means to be skeptical. Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine and is frequently asked what it means to be a skeptic. He answers this question by saying,
As the publisher of Skeptic magazine, I am often asked what I mean by skepticism, and if I’m skeptical of everything or if I actually believe anything. Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.
...science and skepticism are synonymous, and in both cases, it’s okay to change your mind if the evidence changes. It all comes down to this question: What are the facts in support or against a particular claim?
There is also a popular notion that skeptics are closed-minded. Some even call us cynics. In principle, skeptics are neither closed-minded nor cynical. We are curious but cautious. 3
This passage by Shermer points out four key thoughts about skeptics:
- No position is staked out ahead of time. This allows for you to examine the argument with an open mind and then decide whether you accept it or reject it.
- Skepticism follows the procedure of scientific inquiry looking to see if the evidence provided in the argument adequately supports the claim.
- It is okay to change your mind. You may have one position, but after listening to a new argument, with new and additional evidence you can now make a better decision and actually changing your mind is a good thing.
- Skeptics are not cynics. Instead Skeptics are curious, but are cautious and resist leaping to a comfortable conclusion.
An additional and often used method of learning a concept is to look at the origin of a word. For those of you who want to impress your friends, the term for this is etymology . The Basics of Philosophy website has a nice, brief examination of the term skeptic.
The term is derived from the Greek verb "skeptomai" (which means "to look carefully, to reflect"), and the early Greek Skeptics were known as the Skeptikoi. In everyday usage, Skepticism refers to an attitude of doubt or incredulity, either in general or toward a particular object, or to any doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind. It is effectively the opposite of dogmatism, the idea that established beliefs are not to be disputed,doubted or diverged from. 4 (Maston,2008)
I like the idea that this passage clearly states that being a skeptic is the opposite of being dogmatic.
Jamie Hale describes the difference between being cynical and being a skeptic.
“Cynics are distrustful of any advice or information that they do not agree with themselves. Cynics do not accept any claim that challenges their belief system. While skeptics are open-minded and try to eliminate personal biases, cynics hold negative views and are not open to evidence that refutes their beliefs. Cynicism often leads to dogmatism.” 5
He continues by stating that dogmatism “opposes independent thinking and reason.” If we want to be successful critical thinkers we need to become much more skeptical and less cynical.
In his TEDTalk Michael Shermer explains the relationship between the process of skepticism and science.
Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. In other words, skeptics are from Missouri -- the "Show Me" state. When we skeptics hear a fantastic claim, we say, "That's interesting, show me the evidence for it." 6
A key goal here is to encourage you to be more skeptical. Instead of blindly accepting or rejecting claims made by others, take the time to demand proof. Make the person or organization prove the claim they are making. And remember, you need to be open minded when listening to the argument.
Over three centuries ago the French philosopher and skeptic René Descartes, after one of the most thorough skeptical purges in intellectual history, concluded that he knew one thing for certain: “Cogito ergo sum” — “I think therefore I am.”
By a similar analysis, to be human is to think. Therefore, to paraphrase Descartes: Sum Ergo Cogito —I Am Therefore I Think 7
An effective critical thinker who is successful in arguing is a person who is more skeptical of the messages they receive. This advice is not just for those who wish to be argumentative. This advice is for every citizen.
“What we all need, as citizens, is to develop more skill in applying our skepticism. We need to spot false narratives, and also turn aside those who would replace them with pure fiction. Either we get this right or we cease to be free citizens.” 8
The problem we all experience is that it is not natural to be skeptical. Our natural state is to either flee a conflict or stand and argue. This can be explained by how our brains are structured.
- Deaton, Jeremy. "Cognitive Science Offers Tools To Rebuff Climate Deniers." CleanTechnica, https://cleantechnica.com/2017/03/29/cognitive-science-offers-tools-rebuff-climate-deniers/ . Accessed 10 June 10 2017.
- Shermer, Michael. "What is Skepticism, Anyway." Awaken , https://awaken.com/2013/02/what-is-skepticism-anyway/ . Accessed 30 October 2019.
- Maston, Luke. "Skepticism." The Basics of Philosophy , https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_skepticism.html . Accessed 10 June 2017.
- Hale, Jamie. "Thinking Like a Skeptic." PsychCentral , psychcentral.com/blog/think-like-a-skeptic/. Accessed 30 October 2019.
- Shermer, Michael. "Why People Believe Weird Things." TED , February 2006, https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_why_people_believe_weird_things .
- Shermer, Michael. "A Skeptical Manifesto." Skeptic , https://www.skeptic.com/about_us/manifesto/ . Accessed 16 November 2020.
- Inskeep, Steve. "A Finder’s Guide to Facts." NPR , https://www.npr.org/2016/12/11/505154631/a-finders-guide-to-facts .
IMAGES
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COMMENTS
Skepticism has been used to challenge existing beliefs and assumptions, while doubt has been used to question and probe ideas, concepts, and beliefs. In this article, we explore the philosophical and critical thinking perspectives on skepticism and doubt. We will look at how they have been used throughout history to shape our thinking and ...
In my most recent post, 12 Important Dispositions for Critical Thinking, I presented a list of dispositions that are likely to enhance the quality of one's thinking—specifically, disposition ...
Skepticism: Why critical thinking makes you smarter "In order to seek truth," Rene Descartes once wrote, "it is necessary once in the course of our life to doubt, as far as possible, all things."
Skepticism: Why critical thinking makes you smarter. Being skeptical isn't just about being contrarian. It's about asking the right questions of ourselves and others to gain understanding. . 15 ...
Skepticism: Why critical thinking makes you smarterWatch the newest video from Big Think: https://bigth.ink/NewVideoLearn skills from the world's top minds a...
Skepticism, on the other hand, is a key part of critical thinking - a goal of education. The term skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos , meaning "to inquire" or "look around."
Critical Thinking is the process of using and assessing reasons to evaluate statements, assumptions, and arguments in ordinary situations. The goal of this process is to help us have good beliefs, where "good" means that our beliefs meet certain goals of thought, such as truth, usefulness, or rationality. Critical thinking is widely ...
Critical Thinking. Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal. Conceptions differ with respect to the scope of such thinking, the type of goal, the criteria and norms ...
The traditional issue of the structure of knowledge and justification, engendering Foundationalism, Coherentism, and Infinitism, can be seen as resulting from one main argument for what we will call Pyrrhonian Skepticism. In what follows we present these two forms of skepticism and assess the main arguments for them. 1.
Arguing Using Critical Thinking (Marteney) 3: Clash 3.2: Skepticism ... and the early Greek Skeptics were known as the Skeptikoi. In everyday usage, Skepticism refers to an attitude of doubt or incredulity, either in general or toward a particular object, or to any doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind.
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation. The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind, thus a critical thinker is a person who practices the ...
skepticism, in Western philosophy, the attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or reliability of these claims by asking what principles they are based upon or what they actually establish. They have questioned whether some such claims really are, as alleged, indubitable or ...
As critical thinking defuses, disenchants, and distances, it neuters the claims that romance our souls and arouse our impulse to believe. And in so doing, it educates us to expect and be satisfied with very little. A culture of critique tells us that having little, believing little, is a kind of salvation.
Skepticism 101: How to Think Like a Scientist covers a wide range of topics, from critical thinking, reasoning, rationality, cognitive biases and how thinking goes wrong, and the scientific methods, to actual claims and whether or not there is any truth to them, e.g., ESP, ETIs, UFOs, astrology, channelling, psychics, creationism, Holocaust ...
2 Critical Thinking, Research, Reading, and Writing. Introduction; 2.1 The Brain Is an Inference Machine; ... Skeptical hypotheses and the arguments that they inspire all have a similar structure: If I cannot rule out the possibility of SH, then I cannot be justified in believing that P.
7 young people be introduced to critical thinking at the earliest possible opportunity and be encouraged to adopt a disposition of a healthy, mitigated, methodological skepticism as a defense against outrageous claims. Hence, the Bertrand Russell "Will to Doubt" ought to override the William James "Will to Believe.".
Critical thinking, sometimes called healthy skepticism, is a learned skill, using reflective, analytical thinking to make a reasonable, rational decision on what to believe or do. Even the most intelligent people have to learn it and practise it consciously. Once learned, critical thinking helps us to resist emotional appeals that might ...
The Importance of Skepticism. When it comes to critical thinking, one might assume that skepticism is kind of a no-brainer. And one would be right (in my opinion, anyway). What I think is interesting is how often skepticism is perceived to conflict with open-mindedness. First, let's look at what skepticism means, then the importance of ...
Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment. To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources. Critical thinking skills help you to: Identify credible sources. Evaluate and respond to arguments.
In my most recent post, 12 Important Dispositions for Critical Thinking, I presented a list of dispositions that are likely to enhance the quality of one's thinking—specifically, disposition ...
Critical thinking focuses on logically understanding an argument to make the best decision. However, while skepticism has a place and is necessary for the thinking process, it is not the same as critical thinking. Skepticism is an attitude of doubt and questioning knowledge and beliefs. This is different than analyzing and evaluating information.
Skepticism and the tools of skepticism can be one of the most effective ways of accomplishing that task. Students' critical thinking skills were assessed across multiple topics to ascertain their use and development of critical thinking skills. Preliminary results show that critical thinking skills do not transfer well from topic to topic, growth
Critical thinking is essential for skepticism. The mindset portion of our conceptualization of professional skepticism reflects the idea that individuals' cognitive processing determines both the content and strength of their resulting attitudes (Petty, Haugtvedt, & Smith, 1995). For example, biased processing of evidence will naturally result ...
Fasce and Pico conducted one of the few studies using a measure related to skeptical disposition, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS) of Sosu , in relation to endorsement of unsubstantiated claims. They found that scores on the CTDS were negatively correlated with scores on the RPBS but not significantly correlated with either a ...
In a new study, "Toward an Understanding of the Economics of Misinformation: Evidence from a Demand Side Field Experiment on Critical Thinking," economists John A. List, Lina M. Ramírez, Julia Seither, Jaime Unda and Beatriz Vallejo conduct a real-world experiment to see whether simple, low-cost nudges can be effective in helping consumers to reject misinformation.
The IAASB's standards (for example, ISA 200, ISAE 3000) take this one step further and require professional accountants performing audits, reviews, and other assurance services to use professional skepticism when considering data and information. The IAASB defines professional skepticism as "an attitude that includes a questioning mind ...
Dr. Lamas, a contributing Opinion writer, is a pulmonary and critical-care physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. I arrived at the hospital one recent morning to find a team of ...
Critical Thinking In The Age Of AI. Of course, this study was conducted back in 2022. Back then, misinformation, for the most part, was pretty low-tech. Misinformation may now be getting ...
Colleges and universities should create an environment that empowers students to develop their critical thinking muscles, grapple with complex ideas and arrive at their own well-reasoned conclusion…
In a concerning twist, the economists found that participants who both took the test and watched the video became so skeptical that they were about 31 percent less likely to view true headlines as reliable. In other words, they became so distrustful that even the truth became suspect. ... Critical Thinking In The Age Of AI. Of course, this ...