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Skepticism (British spelling: Scepticism) can mean:
- Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical
position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and
whether or not one can ever be said to have true knowledge; or
- Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical,
position in which one does not accept the veracity of claims until the scientific method has been applied to them.
Scientific skepticism is related to, but not identical to, philosophical skepticism. Many scientists and doctors who are
skeptical of claims of the paranormal are nonetheless not adherents of classical philosophical skepticism. When critics of controversial
scientific or paranormal claims are said to be skeptical, this only refers to their taking a position of scientific
skepticism.
The term skeptic is now usually used to refer to a person who takes a critical position in a given situation,
usually by employing the principles of critical thinking and the
scientific method (that is, scientific skepticism) to evaluate
the validity of claims and practices. Skeptics view empirical evidence as important, as it provides possibly the best way to
determine the validity of a claim.
While skepticism involves the use of the scientific method and
of critical thinking, this does not mean that skeptics
necessarily use these tools consistently or simply find that there is indeed evidence of their belief.
Skeptics are often confused with, or even denounced as, cynics. However, valid
skeptical criticism (as opposed to arbitrary or subjective misgivings about an idea) strictly originates from an objective and
methodological examination that is often agreed between skeptics themselves. Note too that cynicism is generally seen as a
viewpoint that maintains an unnecessarily negative attitude toward human motives and sincerity. While the two positions are not
mutually exclusive and many skeptics may also be cynics, they each represent a fundamentally different statement about the nature
of the world.
Many critics accuse scientific skeptics of being "closed-minded" or of inhibiting scientific progress. Such critics, however,
are often pseudoscientists, paranormalists, and spiritualists, whose views are not
adopted or supported by mainstream science. On the other hand, people who deny the possibility of something simply because it
hasn't been proven by the scientific method often can inhibit
scientific progress.
A debunker is a skeptic who pursues dispelling false and unscientific claims.
Famous debunkers include James
Randi, Basava Premanand, Penn and Teller and Harry Houdini. Many debunkers become rather controversial because they have strong opinions and can be vocal
about things that may offend people, such as religion and pseudosciences.
Critics of debunkers state that their conclusions are filled with self-interest, and that they are crusaders and true
believers with a need for certainty and stability. They (true believers) are readily identified by their cognitive distortions.
(In the world of science, the term "cognitive distortions" is not a slur, but a psychological explanation).
In particular, many pseudoscientists are quick to attack skeptics
and skepticism in general because of resistance to their fringe ideas and theories, which lack evidence and which the scientific
establishment does not accept.
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