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Skepticism – You’re Doing It Wrong.
Are there people in your life whose skepticism switch seems to be jammed in reverse?
Take evolution, for example. The evidence is nothing if not completely overwhelming. We have libraries full of peer-reviewed scientific papers and museums full of a supporting fossil record. The explanatory power of evolution – which, as a scientific theory, is its most important trait – is almost unparalleled among the life sciences. Its predictive power is equally well-established. To all who understand evolution, it’s as solid as gravity.
Yet our reverse-skeptic acquaintances say, “Eh. I’m not convinced.”
Also consider global warming – specifically the man-made variety. There are thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies that show A. the average temperature of the earth is rising and B. we are causing it. The vast majority of scientists who study the environment agree to a 90% certainty that if you calibrate for the 50% of warming caused by “mother nature,” the remaining 50% is caused by us. (Check it out for yourself – here is a good place to start .) Even George W. Bush stated that he believes in man-made global warming.
Yet again, our reverse skeptics don’t buy it. “There’s no way we, as a single species, could be causing this.”
So, maybe they’re not reverse skeptics – they’re just WAY skeptical. It takes a much higher standard of proof to convince them, so maybe we should support their endeavors.
Until…of course…
“Hey, reverse-skeptic! Did you hear Obama is (insert any crackpot theory here)!?!”
“Yes! ABSOLUTELY! I believe you regardless of any evidence you may or may not have!”
“Hey, reverse-skeptic! 9-11!?!”
“Inconsistencies in the rate of the towers’ collapse mean it HAD TO BE an INSIDE JOB!”
If I had to guess, I’d say that Obama’s election has cranked up the paranoia factor, especially on the conservative side of the equation. I just can’t help but notice that quite a few people in my sphere of influence – including family, friends, and others I know and (in most cases) respect – are jumping on this weird skepticism-fail bandwagon. It’s out-of-control confirmation bias, and it’s even worse than the intellectual apathy it replaces. Some people I know who espouse these views are even starting to call themselves “free thinkers.” Yikes.
So, any ideas on how to tactfully tell someone that, when it comes to skepticism, they’re doing it wrong?”
Disclaimer: The views expressed by an individual contributor to this blog are not necessarily shared by all members of FreeThought Fort Wayne. That is what makes this organization so interesting. Commenters on the FreeThought Fort Wayne blog are expected to abide by our comment policy. About the author: Michael won't let anyone forget that he, as one of the founding members and now Vice President, came up with the name "FreeThought Fort Wayne." So there. You may contact him at vicepresident (at) freethoughtfortwayne (dot) org. Read more from this author
The Skepticism – You’re Doing It Wrong. by Michael B., unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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4 comments for “Skepticism – You’re Doing It Wrong.”
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Very good points on “reverse skepticism”, or the failure to acknowledge an overwhelming amount of facts, knowledge and scientific studies pertaining to global warming and evolution. Keep in mind there are some who adamantly believe the holocaust did not happen, and man has never stepped foot on the moon.
I do agree with you in regards to the rise in the paranoia and hysteria meter. I also have a few friends/family members who are hell bent that the end of the world is near since Barack Obama took office. I personally think they may have read the “Left Behind” series way too many times. Not to put people in the same box here, but it does seem like a good portion of the folks who think Barack Obama will destroy America, also buy into the anti-global warming and anti-evolution rational.
To make matters worse, many of these people are rushing out to purchase military style assault weapons because they fear the Obama administration will soon ban guns. So, if you are reading this correctly, we run the risk of having a heavily armed, anti-global warming, anti-evolution, paranoid, bible-thumping, flag waving portion of our population who are waiting for the end of days to come.
I think the majority of the religious (and non-religious, for that matter) are intelligent people in most aspects of their lives. The problem occurs when their religious beliefs are compartmentalized to the detriment of their intellects. They simply put a wall around their spiritual beliefs and declare them off-limits to the rest of their intellectual, waking life. Their religion gets a free pass from their rational objectivity (that they use liberally in any other sphere of their lives) because they have given their beliefs precedence over everything else.
As far as the brand of “skepticism” used by conspiracy theorists that aren’t religiously oriented, it’s much the same, except that the desire or wish is for the conspiracy to be true, or at least back up their desires.
Whatever the source, it is all false skepticism meant as a show more for themselves than for any one else’ benefit. Take whatever little facts buttress your presumptive assumptions and throw away the rest of those pesky facts that don’t chime with what you want to be true.
Essentially, it’s all willful delusion to believe a given presumption.
The scientific evidence supporting natural selection is quite overwhelming however the consequences of evolution run head first into religious ideology.
The scientific evidence supporting humanity’s role in global climate change runs head first into political ideology.
Both are 2 very strong forces and both work to create a very strong worldview.
Your fellow Fort Wayne FreeThinkers aren’t that bad, are they?
But seriously, I see this as good news. It means that the term is starting to gain traction with the public. The fact that people are appropriating the term to try to gain credibility is unavoidable. I imagine every respectable organization suffers from this. Fortunately, any FreeThinker worth his salt will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. (Wow. Two metaphors in a single sentence. I should probably be forced to repeat 9th grade English for that.)
That’s a hard nut to crack. (Look! Another metaphor! Yeehaw!) When I’m wrong, I want to be corrected, ASAP. I almost always appreciate Grammar Nazi’s and I would be annoyed at someone if he knew I was objectively incorrect and didn’t say anything. It’s analogous to someone who sees a booger hanging from my nose but remains silent.
However, it’s taken several painful lessons to learn that not everyone is like me (Thank goodness!) and that many people take offense to being corrected. One tactic that I’ve occasionally used is to join their train of thought and then derail it. Example:
Note that my response doesn’t address whether or not our country is in decline or whether divorce is responsible for the decline, but it acts as a kind of defibrillator to their thought process. Stephen Colbert is a master of this. That’s why he has a TV show and I don’t.