Skepticism and morality

[Dogdoctor]

Start a new thread re these and I will but otherwise that would be too off topic here and a hijack.


And, if I have time. Which I will try. But you sound like you aren't going to buy it no matter what so I'm not certain my time will be that well spent. Why don't you show your sincerity by providing evidence contrary to the above when you open the thread?

No way! Skeptical thinking is needed to show the people who think, for example, that the Bush administration is acting on moral principles when it is a farce. And one needs to use skeptical thinking to show the anti-abortionists that you get less abortions when it is legal and people have access to birth control than you get by teaching abstinence only and making abortions illegal.

This was your previous post saying that you can use skeptical thinking to show those two ideas. Skeptical thinking would provide little use unless you have reliable data to deal with. In politics and morality there is usually not reliable data so you are dealing with unreliable data and skepticism would mostly tell us to be skeptical of any decision based on that. You can use it but it becomes very similar if not identical to using logic without skepticism. There is rarely reliable data in politics or morality but what skepticism might do is to point to a need to develop data about certain issues such as morality of politicians or abortion.

 

[blutoski]

This was your previous post saying that you can use skeptical thinking to show those two ideas. Skeptical thinking would provide little use unless you have reliable data to deal with. In politics and morality there is usually not reliable data so you are dealing with unreliable data and skepticism would mostly tell us to be skeptical of any decision based on that. You can use it but it becomes very similar if not identical to using logic without skepticism. There is rarely reliable data in politics or morality but what skepticism might do is to point to a need to develop data about certain issues such as morality of politicians or abortion.

Yes, I think she's confusing skepticism with critical thinking. Skepticism is related, but they're not the same thing.

 

[Dunstan]

Actually, I think she's confusing skepticism with "agreeing with my political views."

Believing that everyone whose political views differ from yours is either stupid or corrupt is just as much a comforting illusion as anything any woo has ever believed.

(And for the record, I am neither anti-abortion nor a Bush supporter.)

 

[Roboramma]

On the other hand, I think it foolish to suggest that skepticism should not be applied to politics, or that it can not offer benefits when it is applied.

There are, however, some things that skepticism cannot offer us. For instance, it can't tell me what I should want. This, along with other things, is one of the reasons that it only has limited power to inform politics.

Creationism, for instance, is a political issue in the US. A skeptical approach to creationist claims can help one in forming an opinion about whether creationism should be taught in schools. There are, though, some aspects of the issue that go beyond skepticism, such as whether or not the separation of church and state is a good thing.

 

[Dunstan]

On the other hand, I think it foolish to suggest that skepticism should not be applied to politics, or that it can not offer benefits when it is applied.

I agree. But the tricky thing is that most of the time, there isn't a "skeptical" side and a "non-skeptical" side. Instead there are good arguments and bull[rule8] arguments for X, and good arguments and bull[rule8] arguments against X.

 

[Dogdoctor]

On the other hand, I think it foolish to suggest that skepticism should not be applied to politics, or that it can not offer benefits when it is applied.

I agree with you and never said anything about not using it. Only that typically it is of little help in making political or moral decisions due to lack of reliable data. In the instance of Creationism there is reliable data (about evolution).