The Miserable Skeptic

I’ve started other skepticism related blogs in the not too distant past, but have always binned them relatively quickly. They focussed upon news stories deserved of skeptical insight, as opposed to the philosophy of skepticism itself. As this is the sister website of Gloucestershire Paranormal and Fortean Investigations (which employs skeptical reasoning to analyse claims of anomalous and allegedly paranormal events), I think it makes sense to try to get to the bare bones of what skepticism is and why it is a useful tool…

I consider myself to live in a society where I am being constantly bombarded by claims that I should buy certain products, wear certain clothes, give money to certain charities, believe in certain religions, watch a certain film or put my faith in certain treatments that will help ease the stresses of life. Likewise, many claimants entice by highlighting the benefits they offer, as opposed to any drawbacks or weaknesses in the underlying product, treatment or philosophy. How can I really be sure everything is as good as it is made out to be? How do I know I am being told the truth? I guess I could always try to sample all of the wines, religions and treatments, but I have neither the time or money to do so. I could also go with what I feel sounds or looks ‘right’, take a ‘lucky dip’, or go with the advice and testimony of someone else.

But, on the whole, I don’t do that. I’ve become too wary of getting stuck with a metaphorical turkey and the financial loss that often goes with it. If I make a decision, I’d rather make one that is rational, balanced and informed.

So, I employ skepticism as a means of reaching a decision. This entails putting personal beliefs and prejudices to one side before weighing up all sides of an issue. I will choose the side which has reliable, compelling, objectively collected and factual evidence behind it. If I still can’t reach a decision then I’ll go off and find some factually based sources which can provide me with more information. Should any new evidence crop up then, or at a later date, I’ll reassess the issue accordingly (skepticism and knowledge go hand in hand, the former entailing a constant search for the latter).

My previous paragraph makes skepticism seem as balanced and rational as it should be. It doesn’t portray skepticism as the evil, closed-minded system of denialism that some mistakenly present it as. Let’s address that one here and now. Yes, there are people who claim to be skeptics who are nothing of the sort. Some of these are the ones who will deny any claim of the weird and wonderful without any consideration. These people are closed-minded denialists. They represent skepticism no more than the pope represents Buddhism!

The bottom line is that people pushing weak products, policies, beliefs and religions have an all too clear interest in giving skepticism a bad name. Skepticism allows the individual to see through all of the glossy marketing and enticing packaging to uncover what’s really underneath.

The ironic thing is that the people who dislike skepticism will almost certainly apply it in other areas of their life. For example, it is usually skepticism that makes us delete the email from a Nigerian magnate who has access to a hidden gold reserve but needs money to mine it. It is usually skepticism that makes us decide not to have our windows replaced by the tradesman who has just knocked on the door. It is also skepticism that makes us know that photograph shows a speck of out of focus dust, and not the wandering soul of a dead relative. It is skepticism that allows us to make rational, informed decisions throughout our daily lives. And is that such a bad thing?