What is a skeptic?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

I hear a few people are declaring themselves skeptics?
What does that mean?

[Shaker]

http://bfy.tw/5X9E

[Sriram]

I hear a few people are declaring themselves skeptics?
What does that mean?

It means that they have just come into adolescence (physically or mentally)!

That's when the second stage of skepticism, cynicism, self identity, self esteem, disregard for authority etc. start surfacing after the initial childhood stage. 

Getting into that stage is almost automatic...but getting out is not so simple. Many people unfortunately, remain in that stage for life without reaching the third stage of maturity. 

[ippy]

It means that they have just come into adolescence (physically or mentally)!

That's when the second stage of skepticism, cynicism, self identity, self esteem, disregard for authority etc. start surfacing after the initial childhood stage. 

Getting into that stage is almost automatic...but getting out is not so simple. Many people unfortunately, remain in that stage for life without reaching the third stage of maturity.

I have just read your post Sriram, it made me wonder how wide the doorways have to be in your house?

ippy   

[Stranger]

Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It's the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion.

https://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php

Skepticism ... is generally any questioning attitude towards unempirical knowledge or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere. Skepticism is often separated into categories, related to morality (right or wrong), religion (religious doubt), or the nature of knowledge ("there is no knowledge beyond how things appear.")...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism

Much of epistemology has arisen either in defense of, or in opposition to, various forms of skepticism. Indeed, one could classify various theories of knowledge by their responses to skepticism. For example, rationalists could be viewed as skeptical about the possibility of empirical knowledge while not being skeptical with regard to a priori knowledge, and empiricists could be seen as skeptical about the possibility of a priori knowledge but not so with regard to empirical knowledge. In addition, views about many traditional philosophical problems, e.g., the problem of other minds or the problem of induction, can be seen as restricted forms of skepticism that hold that we cannot have knowledge of any propositions in some particular domain that is normally thought to be within our ken.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism/

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.

http://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism

Philosophical views are typically classed as skeptical when they involve advancing some degree of doubt regarding claims that are elsewhere taken for granted. Varieties of skepticism can be distinguished in two main ways, depending upon the focus and the extent of the doubt.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/skepcont/

It means that they have just come into adolescence (physically or mentally)!

That's when the second stage of skepticism, cynicism, self identity, self esteem, disregard for authority etc. start surfacing after the initial childhood stage.

Getting into that stage is almost automatic...but getting out is not so simple. Many people unfortunately, remain in that stage for life without reaching the third stage of maturity.

Humm, wondering who is being the adolescent....

[Sriram]

It means that they have just come into adolescence (physically or mentally)!

That's when the second stage of skepticism, cynicism, self identity, self esteem, disregard for authority etc. start surfacing after the initial childhood stage. 

Getting into that stage is almost automatic...but getting out is not so simple. Many people unfortunately, remain in that stage for life without reaching the third stage of maturity.

To add to my earlier post......skepticism is not something undesirable or wrong. It is a necessary and vital stage in growing up.  But if skepticism becomes a habit and a mind set....then it is equivalent to a person remaining an adolescent all his life......which is unfortunate!!   

[Hope]

The clearest definition would seem to be the first of the three listed below from the Oxford Dictionary:

sceptic:

1. A person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions.

1.1. A person who doubts the truth of Christianity and other religions; an atheist.


2. Philosophy An ancient or modern philosopher who denies the possibility of knowledge, or even rational belief, in some sphere.

Surprisingly enough, the definition is the same whether you look up the British or American spelling   

Note the British English spelling, JA.   

That also suggests that religious people are not less sceptical than non-religious people, since - in the same way that it is human to err - it is human to question.

[Sebastian Toe]

To add to my earlier post......skepticism is not something undesirable or wrong. It is a necessary and vital stage in growing up.  But if skepticism becomes a habit and a mind set....then it is equivalent to a person remaining an adolescent all his life......which is unfortunate!!   

..that would make you an 'unfortunate' then?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

..that would make you an 'unfortunate' then?

Yes but when we consider the barely funny sixth form musings of the antitheist comedians we see that Sriram has a point...............and talking of antitheist comics apparently................

[Leonard James]

Scepticism is the tendency to question claims that can't be backed up with testable evidence.

[Stranger]

Yes but when we consider the barely funny sixth form musings of the antitheist comedians we see that Sriram has a point.............

 

Talking of funny sixth form musings...

Have you found out what category mistake means yet? Worked out what you really want to say when you post "methodology is not ontology"?

[Sriram]

Scepticism is the tendency to question claims that can't be backed up with testable evidence.

Not really! Skepticism is just...skepticism, a mindset and a way of looking at things. It is normally specific to certain areas that we have developed a skeptical attitude towards, based on our culture and upbringing. 

There are many people who are skeptical of evolution, Big Bang, moon landing etc. Does not mean there is no evidence for these or that their skepticism is warranted.

'Evidence' is only what we are capable of and willing to see.

[torridon]

It means that they have just come into adolescence (physically or mentally)!

That's when the second stage of skepticism, cynicism, self identity, self esteem, disregard for authority etc. start surfacing after the initial childhood stage. 

Getting into that stage is almost automatic...but getting out is not so simple. Many people unfortunately, remain in that stage for life without reaching the third stage of maturity.

Your understanding is very poor.  If people start to develop critical thinking skills when they reach puberty, that doesn't mean that critical thinking skills are puberty.  You seem to be confusing scepticism with a developmental phase that people go through, like teenage rebellion; see Stranger's post #4 for a much more comprehensive take.  In your definition, it would seem that maturity into adulthood would be a regression back into childhood naivety.

[Sriram]

Your understanding is very poor.  If people start to develop critical thinking skills when they reach puberty, that doesn't mean that critical thinking skills are puberty.  You seem to be confusing scepticism with teenage rebellion; see Stranger's post #4 for a much more comprehensive take.  In your definition, it would seem that maturity into adulthood would be a regression back into childhood naivety.

See #5 and #11.

[torridon]

See #5 and #11.

Yes #5 and #11 demonstrate your lack of understanding.  Scepticism is not a teenage mindset, it is more a life skill and a form of mental discipline that requires a certain depth of experience and maturity not available during childhood

[Stranger]

Scepticism is the tendency to question claims that can't be backed up with testable evidence.

Not really! Skepticism is just...skepticism, a mindset and a way of looking at things. It is normally specific to certain areas that we have developed a skeptical attitude towards, based on our culture and upbringing.

I refer you to message #4. There are several senses of the word and it is used in many different ways - that's what happens in language. Leonard is quite correct in that the word is often used in that sense (see first quote in #4).

Oxford Dictionaries first definition of sceptic is: A person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions. A generally healthy attitude, IMO.

There are many people who are skeptical of evolution, Big Bang, moon landing etc. Does not mean there is no evidence for these or that their skepticism is warranted.

That is a different sense of the word. In recent times, more likely to be referred to as conspiracy theorists than sceptics.

'Evidence' is only what we are capable of and willing to see.

Nonsense. This would imply that evidence is, in some sense, subjective....

evidence

noun
[mass noun]

1 The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid: 'the study finds little evidence of overt discrimination'

1.1 Law Information drawn from personal testimony, a document, or a material object, used to establish facts in a legal investigation or admissible as testimony in a law court: 'without evidence, they can’t bring a charge'

1.2 Signs or indications of something: 'there was no obvious evidence of a break-in'

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/evidence

[Hope]

Scepticism is the tendency to question claims that can't be backed up with testable evidence.

Not sure that it has to have anything about testable evidence involved, Len.  For instance, I am sure that there is a whole lot of testable evidence backing up much of the Brexit and Bremain claims, yet people remain sceptical of both.

[Hope]

Yes #5 and #11 demonstrate your lack of understanding.  Scepticism is not a teenage mindset, it is more a life skill and a form of mental discipline that requires a certain depth of experience and maturity not available during childhood

I can think of peole who are now adults and have been sceptical of things since they were barely out of nappies.  OK, the early days of their scepticism revolved around fairly simple issues, and it developed as the grew older. 

[floo]

If something isn't credible, like much of the stuff recorded in the Bible, for which there is no evidence, then scepticism should be the default position, imo.

[trippymonkey]

A 'healthy dose of scepticism is OK !
Otherwise we could end up like those eff-wits ISIS, acting like idiotic morons.

Nick

[torridon]

I can think of peole who are now adults and have been sceptical of things since they were barely out of nappies.  OK, the early days of their scepticism revolved around fairly simple issues, and it developed as the grew older.

All tendencies can be misappropriated though.  We are all tuned up for face recognition, so much so, that we sometimes see faces where there are none, in rock formations, in clouds, that doesn't mean that the ability to recognise faces is a bad thing. Likewise people doubting climate change or Moon landings etc, like to employ the term 'sceptic' to their position but really that is a misappropriation.  Some people have bad childhood experiences and that leads them on to become conspiracy theorists in adulthood, and like with faces in rock formations, they end up seeing subterfuge where there is none.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Scepticism is the tendency to question claims that can't be backed up with testable evidence.

Since a lot of bollocks is talked by antitheists.....shouldn't that be testicle?

[Sriram]

Not really! Skepticism is just...skepticism, a mindset and a way of looking at things. It is normally specific to certain areas that we have developed a skeptical attitude towards, based on our culture and upbringing.


I refer you to message #4. There are several senses of the word and it is used in many different ways - that's what happens in language. Leonard is quite correct in that the word is often used in that sense (see first quote in #4).

Oxford Dictionaries first definition of sceptic is: A person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions. A generally healthy attitude, IMO.

That is a different sense of the word. In recent times, more likely to be referred to as conspiracy theorists than sceptics.

Nonsense. This would imply that evidence is, in some sense, subjective....

evidence

noun
[mass noun]

1 The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid: 'the study finds little evidence of overt discrimination'

1.1 Law Information drawn from personal testimony, a document, or a material object, used to establish facts in a legal investigation or admissible as testimony in a law court: 'without evidence, they can’t bring a charge'

1.2 Signs or indications of something: 'there was no obvious evidence of a break-in'

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/evidence

Skepticism is a mindset. People can be skeptical of anything. From philosophical theories, to science, to economics, to political affairs, to their parents love, to the value of life....etc.

Its not about evidence...its about perception and attitude.

About evidence.... Evidence has always been available for gravity in terms of falling objects. Why didn't anyone see it as evidence for gravity till Newton did?! Similarly with a host of other observations.....

'Evidence' is about connecting certain observations to certain phenomena/certain concepts. If that connection is established...it becomes evidence...otherwise, it can be in front of your nose all the time and still not be perceived as evidence for anything.

Many people see plenty of evidence for a God...why can't you? Because you can't and you also will not. You might simply call them all gullible fools...and that is that!  They will call you an ignorant  fool and.... that is that!
 
Can you provide evidence of light to a born blind person?

[Sriram]

All tendencies can be misappropriated though.  We are all tuned up for face recognition, so much so, that we sometimes see faces where there are none, in rock formations, in clouds, that doesn't mean that the ability to recognise faces is a bad thing. Likewise people doubting climate change or Moon landings etc, like to employ the term 'sceptic' to their position but really that is a misappropriation.  Some people have bad childhood experiences and that leads them on to become conspiracy theorists in adulthood, and like with faces in rock formations, they end up seeing subterfuge where there is none.

LOL!  And who decides which skepticism is valid and which is misappropriated?!  You?!

[Leonard James]

Many people see plenty of evidence for a God...why can't you? Because you can't and you also will not.

If you tell us what "God" is supposed to be, then we can move on to finding evidence for it.