The Mentality of Skeptics

[Slowvehicle]

So would " _______ doesn't exist because it hasn't been proven yet."

Which is why I, and others, would say, instead, "There is no reason to accept that ________ exists, because no empirical, objective, non-anecdotal, testable evidence for the existence of ______ has been presented."

You really need to let your straw person go lie down...

 

[OntarioSquatch]

"There is no reason to accept that ________ exists, because no empirical, objective, non-anecdotal, testable evidence for the existence of ______ has been presented."

You really need to let your straw person go lie down...

The highlighted is a skeptical statement. Most people here don't say that. Instead they say that it doesn't exist.

 

[OntarioSquatch]

You are saying that Bigfoot as a non-alien creation could still have maximum elusiveness allowing it to go centuries without confirmation. Would you agree?

Yes.

 

[Resume]

Yes.

Well that's just silly.

 

[Noztradamus]

If you are inclined to equate ambiguity and the unknown with evidence of the paranormal, you have a problem from the very start.

You can't prove ambiguity and the unknown isn't evidence of the paranormal

 

[William Parcher]

Well that's just silly.

I'd call it covering all bases. Bigfoot existence is not discarded under any circumstances.

 

[Resume]

I'd call it covering all bases. Bigfoot existence is not discarded under any circumstances.

Clearly not.

 

[bruto]

You can't prove ambiguity and the unknown isn't evidence of the paranormal

You can, I believe, say without a doubt that the unknown is not evidence of anything at all. The unknown is not a subset of the known. Non being is not a kind of being.

 

[BayWatcher]

Trolls gotta troll...

 

[eerok]

OntarioSquatch, why so angry? It's not our fault that bigfoot are imaginary.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Ahhh... so this is a bigfoot thread complaining that all the skeptic baddies are refusing to believe, or pay attention to the... what evidence? Shame on the very notion of empirical evidence-based thinking, it has doomed us to modern medicine, Hubble images, and CGI in movies. Maybe that last is the real problem?

If the truth is out there, you won't catch it with woo.

 

[Slowvehicle]

The highlighted is a skeptical statement. Most people here don't say that. Instead they say that it doesn't exist.

OF course, you'll be providing evidence of this...right?

Not to mention: I consider it polite to indicate hwen you are altering a post in order to respond to it selectively...

 

[Resume]

OF course, you'll be providing evidence of this...right?

Not to mention: I consider it polite to indicate hwen you are altering a post in order to respond to it selectively...

In the interest of intellectual honesty, I say that. It's shorthand for" there is no good evidence for the existence of bigfoot." Sort of like there is no good evidence for the existence of intervening gods . . . or unicorns, or mermaids. I think a very good case can be made for the non-existence of bigfoot through a careful examination of the natural history, and the fossil record of North America.

There are others here who feel similarly but I'll let them speak for themselves.

 

[tsig]

Yes you would be, but for all you know, I might have been lying and that might have been someone else's empty can. If I was lying, then it would mean I've successfully tricked you. You would not have been tricked if you maintained your skepticism.



That just doesn't go with definition of skepticism.

noun
1.
a skeptical attitude; doubt as to the truth of something.
"these claims were treated with skepticism"
synonyms: doubt, doubtfulness, a pinch of salt; More
2.
PHILOSOPHY
the theory that certain knowledge is impossible.

Do you doubt I have a Green Garage Goblin?

 

[tsig]

The strong emotional reactions already gave me a hint.

So if I walk into a party and announce that everybody is stupid, when someone objects that is proof of their stupidity?

 

[tsig]

A good quote: "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."

Are you certain I don't have an Invisible Pink Unicorn?

 

[tsig]

This thread is like a "Greatest Hits" album of wooster baloney. Right now, we're hearing that oldie but a goodie, "The Lack of Evidence is Actually Proof of Aliens!" I love that one.

1. We know the aliens are smarter than us

2, Because they are smarter than us they will leave no evidence

3. Therefore lack of evidence of aliens is the best evidence of aliens.

Q. E. D.

 

[Giordano]

The highlighted is a skeptical statement. Most people here don't say that. Instead they say that it doesn't exist.

This is fairly amusing'

You indicate that a statement from a true skeptic should always include that "There is no evidence..." Or "The majority of the evidence indicates..." In fact, almost all of the people in this thread have being saying just that. Most of them have even indicated explicitly as much. A few have used the very common shorthand of saying "There is no Bigfoot" just as they might say "If I release this book from my hand it will not fall up." Implicit (and often when linked to the rest of their comments) these skeptics are saying just what you indicate, that there is no evidence for Bigfoot, and if Bigfoot existed that evidence would be there. Of course there is a tiny, tiny chance the book will fall up (a magnet hidden in the spine and a metal plate in the ceiling?), and everyone saying it will not fall up fully understands that. But we are talking very, very, tiny probabilities , so very few people bother to explicitly include these very, very unlikely outcomes in their normal speech.

And in contrast to the cautionary, evidence-driven statements that you demand of your opponents on this thread, when asked, "You are saying that Bigfoot as a non-alien creation could still have maximum elusiveness allowing it to go centuries without confirmation," you still answer simply, yes with no cautionary elements to your reply at all.

 

[dmaker]

^^ I see you are a floating book scoffer. I have read thousands of accounts of floating books, some of them with multiple witnesses. Some of those witnesses are even police officers and ex special forces. They have never been able to demonstrate a floating book for a camera or in the presence of a floating book non believer, but that is probably just due to the over whelming anxiety of the floating book scoffers.

 

[OntarioSquatch]

That would be more believable if there was actually a continent-wide floating book phenomenon where thousands of people report floating books.