What is Skepticism?

Not too long ago, I went through a process of carefully and methodically pointing out the deficiencies in the arguments of a prolific YouTube posting asswipe who desperately needs a slap in the face with an inappropriate anatomical feature. His main argument was that evolution is an evil cabal and the greatest hoax played on humanity ever. His proof? Why were the arms of T-Rex so short?

Yep. That’s it. I could go into his arguments in more depth and the blinding stupidity he exudes in his posts, but that’s not the point of this column. You see, whenever I posted another comment pointing out an aspect of evolution that clearly answered the questions he was asking, he simply responded that I had given up my skeptical thinking and was buying into the BS being sold by the scientific community. He proudly wore the “skeptical” badge by refusing to believe pretty much anything anyone told him. Incidentally, he was not a supporter of ID or creationism either. His entire point was that we just don’t know, but that evolution is not the answer.

This fellow was clearly beyond hope and reason, but he did get me thinking about something. What is skepticism? We all know that there’s a big skeptical movement afoot, but what exactly qualifies as a “skeptical” idea, or position?

I’ll start by giving a rather non-controversial definition. Skepticism is the application of critical thinking to assess the validity of a claim or hypothesis. Note that I didn’t say “reject.” I said “assess.” While the word itself has negative connotations, its real application is anything but. The Youtube moron was cynical, not skeptical. Rejecting a theory because you don’t understand the answer to a question is not skepticism. If this man had simply left it at “I just don’t understand how evolution could have produced the variety of life that we have today,” I would have been okay with his holding on to the skeptical label. Instead, he replied to any and all posts against his ideas with such well thought out arguments as “OH MY GAWD.” His outright rejection of any and all evidence was not skepticism. It was intellectually lazy cynicism. Got a few minutes and want to try breaking through the 3 foot thick leaden skull of this gent? Click below:

Aforementioned Moron’s YouTube Channel

That said, do we sometimes see self proclaimed Skeptics behaving unskeptically? Oh yeah. Hey, I’m guilty of it too. We all are. If some new piece of evidence challenges our notion of someone or something, do we always critically analyze it before judging whether or not to abandon our previous notion? Not usually. Usually we ignore the evidence. Keep in mind, I’m talking about what all people do, not just what skeptics do.

Are you a Democrat? Name for me 1 piece of positive legislation that a Republican has put forth. If you can name several positive Democratic initiatives but no Republican ones. I guarantee that you’re not thinking skeptically. You are noticing the bad stuff coming from the GOP and the good stuff coming from your own team. Good ole’ confirmation bias rearing it’s head again. If you can’t name anything good from either side, you’re probably just not paying close attention to politics. Do you ever find yourself defending a lecherous pro athlete who happens to play for your favorite team? If so, would you impart the same vocal defense for the star player of that team you love to hate? What about a rather mediocre performance by your favorite actor/singer/performer? Would you defend it as “she made the most out of bad material,” or would you appropriately hold her feet to the coals of criticism while looking forward to her next (hopefully better) venture?

Skepticism asks that we critically analyze information and be ready to follow where the truth leads. Sometimes it leads to places we don’t necessarily want to go. Go anyway. Don’t be afraid, don’t be timid, don’t be defensive or upset. Just forge ahead and see what truth lies there. It’s one trip that I can honestly say is always worth the effort.