And:
Doubt <> Skeptic.
Being a skeptic does not merely mean that you doubt.
This cannot be repeated often enough.
And:
Doubt <> Skeptic.
Being a skeptic does not merely mean that you doubt.
This cannot be repeated often enough.
Correa Neto
Philosopher
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A Christian can doubt if I will go to Heaven. He is not being a skeptical in the sense we use here, since his doubt is based just on faith.
When Citizen A tells this Christian that, considering the evidences he is aware of, he concluded there's no Heaven or Hell, he is being a skeptical in the sense we use here.
To say the hypothetical Christian's skepticism is the same thing as Citizen A's skepticism is nonsense.
When Citizen A tells this Christian that, considering the evidences he is aware of, he concluded there's no Heaven or Hell, he is being a skeptical in the sense we use here.
To say the hypothetical Christian's skepticism is the same thing as Citizen A's skepticism is nonsense.
Horatius
NWO Kitty Wrangler
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I woud say that several of your examples already show why critical thinking is important.
But there are people who do let it affect their everyday life. You've already taken the first step, realizing that you shouldn't quit your job and move to Area 51 or some such thing.
So, if the stakes are high enough, you do think critically.
And again here.
7. Uri Geller is a true psychic. Again, this belief doesn't affect my life in any way.
Some people say I must be skeptic. Why? It costs a lot. It costs your time and your brains work. I'm too lazy for that. I don't wanna think is it true or not when I read my newspaper about some random psychic. I don't care that I spend my money for astrology, feng shui and crystals - I can afford it. I don't want to use my brains where it is not absolutely neccessary. As simple as that. Why shall I become a skeptic if it will not affect my life in any way apart from maybe some additional money? Hey, I'll spend more on the beer in weekends. And yes, I'm very good skeptic when I buy a car or make a business contracts. In those cases I am, because it directly affects my life.
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I admit this is kinda devil's advocacy (if it is not clear anyway). But I'm really interested in serious answers - why should one become a skeptic in a rich country where he already lives a reasonably good life. Thanks
And here's why you (or at least, everybody else) needs to think critically. Because it's hard! It takes training and constant practice to keep thinking critically. Even with practice, people can get off on tangents, which can take a lot of effort to correct. If you don't practice critical thinking when the stakes are low (say, about wearing a blue shirt today because your horoscope say to do that), you can't expect to make good decisions on the larger things (should I invest my life savings in Steorn?)
If everyone took the attitude that you did above, you wouldn't have the option of going to serious doctors, or having other options for planning your life other than horoscopes. You rely on other people to think critically, so that you can trust them to get it right when you go to them for help. It's sort of like a herd immunity for woo. If enough people start going off into woo-land, it becomes harder and harder for the remaining non-woo to keep the necessary parts of society on track, and eventually it all goes to hell.
Windom
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Thanks Horatius, I think this is perfect generalization of why do some people don't really need skepticism and critical thinking: because somebody else do it for them. So they can afford not to think critically everywhere but in situations with a real high stakes.
as for UFO,
OK there are people who think they were abused by UFO. But if it never happened to me, I just believe in existence of UFO. I believe that some of people were abused. Thats it. I go to work, earn money, pay taxes like every other who doesn't believe in things like that.
OK there is a small risk that if I ever encounter a sleep paralysis I could think it's UFO. But admit it's very small risk. Majority of UFO believers have never been abducted by aliens (OK, nobody really was, but you know what I mean).
And it's almost the same in every case. There are lots of people who think critically when the stakes are high and affects the life. They don't buy a cat in a bag. But believing in ID or even creationism, UFO, reincarnation... really it doesn't affect your life. Yes, you must use a bit spurious logic to believe that bible is a word of god but don't do what bible says (like, punishing adulteers with death penalty). So what? They can do well with spurious logic and believing in nonsenses. Can't they? Because there are people who do critical thinking for them. There are people who are ready to die for the freedom of speech so that those dumbasses could spread the word of god. There are people who do medicine tests and invents new drugs so that those PETA idiots could stay alive more than 20 years, believe in their crap and fight against science. There are people who makes information technologies better and better every year so that creationsts could create their dino parks. You can do perfectly well without critical thinking.. as long as there is somebody who does it for you.
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Horatius
NWO Kitty Wrangler
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Yes, it's clear that quite a few people can get away with it. The problem is, we don't know at what point the woo takes over, and the critical thinkers that do exist can no longer function effectively. Without knowing where the tipping point is, we must err on the safe side, and encourage as many people as possible to think critically, even though we know we'll never get everyone to do so.
There's a reason our society is so rich we can afford to support a lot of hangers-on, and big part of that is the benefit of having a lot of science-minded critical thinkers who can create new and better drugs, products and what not.
Lazarus Long said:
thaiboxerken
Penultimate Amazing
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thaiboxerken
Penultimate Amazing
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Religion is something that should definitely be on the list of things to think critically of. Faith is the antithesis of critical thought and gives religious cults their power.
thaiboxerken
Penultimate Amazing
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The problem with your attitude towards critical thought and skepticism is that you're saying there is nothing wrong with magical thinking. I don't agree. Intellectual laziness is a very hard hole to climb out of. Once the magical thought process begins it's hard to stop and people start flying airplanes into buildings.
Letting other people do the "critical thinking" for you doesn't help protect you from scams and cults. People can do well without critical thought, only if their lucky enough not to come across these scams and cults. The lack of critical thought is what keeps fisching scams and cults still in progress.
The more you encourage magical thinking, the more magical thinking will start to infest science. We're seeing it happen. This magical thinking will cripple our modern world if it gets enough power.
Almo
Masterblazer
You accept one dumb thing like Uri Gellar, and it makes you more suceptible to other idiocy like homeopathy which CAN have a detrimental effect on your life.
Horatius
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There's also the problem that the dividing line between a "trivial" belief and one that might kill you isn't always so clear. Does anyone remember Jim Henson?
Also consider the effect of irrational beliefs on things like the AIDS problem in Africa.
Thus a little more critical thought on your part may have a great effect on your life. Again, it's hard to know where the dividing line is, so it's best to play it safe.
Also consider the effect of irrational beliefs on things like the AIDS problem in Africa.
Thus a little more critical thought on your part may have a great effect on your life. Again, it's hard to know where the dividing line is, so it's best to play it safe.
Windom
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This is perfectly true. But then again, if one is ready to pay some hundred bucks for some talisman which makes your car driving safer because he is too lazy for skeptical thinking... do you think he will understand idea such abstract like this? You know you are right and I know you are right and about everybody else here knows you are right. But we are not those who needs to be proven why skeptical thinking is required in every case and why a method "I believe what I want" is a ********.
Windom
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Thats true again, but - there are a fair amount of people who somehow manages to switch modes. When there is a serious need, they go to the doctors, not to spiritual healers. When they are at university, they can write an examine about every physics law they need to know and even graduate university. But when it comes to simple life, they do believe prayers can heal, they do believe spoons can be bended my mind and they do believe in existence of some about 1024 different types of energy (like, crystal energy...). And they can get away with it. Their behavior is quite illogical but if so far it didn't any harm to them, how can you prove it's wrong?
Almo
Masterblazer
"Wrong" is the wrong word for it. It's inconsistent. To apply one set of rules to things that are "important" and another to things that aren't, just doesn't make any sense.
Example:
I know a very well respected economist. Obviously, economists know a lot about scarcity, and supply and demand. He talks about a time when at a conference, he and several economist friends were looking for a place to eat. One restaurant had a long line of people outside it, while several others didn't. Using the principle of the "Oppotunity Cost of Time," they reasoned it's better to not wait in line, since waiting adds to the cost of the meal. Time is valuable, after all. The food was lousy. But, he said, "Economists don't like to waste time!" I said, "What about scarcity of resources?" (good food in this case) He said "Ah! Very good point!"
Also, my personal experience is that people in general are NOT capable of switching modes, as you say. The more silliness a person believes in on a daily basis, the more serious fallcies they tend to believe. People are creatures of habit, and believing incorrect things in the absence of evidence becomes a habit.
Windom
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How they can believe in things which contradicts each other then? How did Orwel call it in his 1984?
Examples:
- Lots of people nowdays believe that bible is absolutely true, the word from God. AND they believe in reincarnation. Contradiction!
- They believe Jesus was right and Buddha was right. Sorry guys, but Buddha said there is no god(s)!
- Lots of people believes every religion is right. Or you can believe whatever you want and you'll be right. Well this is something more than just contradiction, it's pure idiocy...
- They believe diseases come from bacteries and viruses. Also, the same disease can come from karma and devil.
- They believe God saves us, takes care of us. We will only get what we deserve. And however they go to doctor when they are ill.
Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
That people should be sceptical, and people need to be sceptical are two different things.
Yes it would benefit people if they exercised more scepticism.
But when you look at the wide variety of poor choices humans make, it is jst another on the list.
But in former work I did , helping people who had crashed and burned, there seemed to be three major poor choices people would make, and usualy they did so with the full knowledge that it was a poor choice, so scepticsim would not have changed thier emotionaly based choice.
1. Maintaining primary relations or friendships with people who were destructive to the individual.
2. Supporting friends and family who were destructive to the individual, especialy letting them live in the house.
3. Mood altering behaviors which were destructive to the individual.
So while you and I feel that being sceptical is beneficial to us, a lot of poor choices are based upon emotional choices despite the known consequences.
Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
Unfortunately the practioners of science can be as human as the rest and do not always use the critical thinking skills they should, science is rife with all sorts of people not exercising critical thinking, especialy when it comes to thier own pet theory of project.
That's why peer review is so important in science.
Piggy
Unlicensed street skeptic
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A failure to be skeptical leads to repeating false notions such as this one.
If you care to see such an argument, look here. The argument is summed up in this post.
Failure to take a skeptical attitude leaves us open to partisan thinking, a type of self-delusion wherein our brains actually reward us for making mistakes.
In short, skepticism is our protection against error. And if we are making errors in our thinking, we will be blind to potential consequences. If we never ask whether there might be a waterfall ahead, we vastly increase our risk of blindly falling over one.