Types of Skeptics

[Trent Wray]

I used to say I was a "skeptic", until I found this forum a couple of weeks ago and realized I have been using the word ignorantly to say the least :(

I was hoping, out of my own curiosity, to understand if skeptics generally categorized themselves as the Gospel of Wikipedia suggests, and so I settup this poll. You can choose more than one choice btw.

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

I hope I'm not coming off as offensive or more ignorant of skepticism in general by even posting a poll such as this that asks people to categorize themselves, But I've noticed word definitions and labels can have a lot of weight in this forum, --- and I am curious and thirsty to understand. This is def. a fascinating and thought provoking forum :)

Thanx in advance to whoever answers the poll!

[plumjam]

The thing I doubt most is when people claim to have a sore throat.
Yes, folks, I'm a streptic.

[H'ethetheth]

I consider myself all of those, hence I'm also not really categorized.

[Darat]

I have never liked the idea of labelling myself or anyone as "a sceptic"; I think scepticism should be treated as a tool, a methodology if you like and "promoted" in such a way rather than as a position that you adopt.

[Belz...]

Hopefully I've purged all the woo from my system, by now.

[Pure Argent]

I have never liked the idea of labelling myself or anyone as "a sceptic"; I think scepticism should be treated as a tool, a methodology if you like and "promoted" in such a way rather than as a position that you adopt.

I think it's a little of both. It's a tool in that it can be used to determine what you should believe. At the same time, it's a position based on that you have to make a conscious decision to be a skeptic.

[Marduk]

I am not a sceptic, I am a critical thinker
:p

[a3sigma]

I simply find reality much more interesting, useful, and beautiful, than anything anyone has ever made up.

DC

[Bikewer]

Some time back, Paul Kurtz came up with the notion of "The New Skepticism". Wrote an entire book on the subject, as I recall, but also a much shorter article that ran in Skeptical Inquirer.
I found myself agreeing with most of his ideas; essentially a skepticism founded in critical thinking and the parameters of the "known". Demanding evidence for claims...
Essentially a Rationalist attitude.

There is a perception by many that "skepticism" is just a blanket denial of most everything.....

[Nursefoxfire]

I can tell you're new to JREF, there's no Planet X option! :eye-poppi

To more directly answer the question, I like what both Darat and Bikewer say. It's like categorizing yourself as a type of atheist, when in fact atheism is the absence of something, rather than being a belief system in and of itself (ok, crappy analogy, I know).

[Sledge]

I don't like labelling myself at all. To paraphrase Batman, it's not what I label myself but what I do that defines me.

[Piscivore]

I have never liked the idea of labelling myself or anyone as "a sceptic"; I think scepticism should be treated as a tool, a methodology if you like and "promoted" in such a way rather than as a position that you adopt.
I am not a sceptic, I am a critical thinker
:p
These.

Hopefully I've purged all the woo from my system, by now.
I've kept some around in a cage because it amuses me.

[Lucian]

I have never liked the idea of labelling myself or anyone as "a sceptic"; I think scepticism should be treated as a tool, a methodology if you like and "promoted" in such a way rather than as a position that you adopt.

I would agree with this. One of the reasons I chose the last option was that it was the only one to use the adjective "skeptical" (sceptical) rather than the noun.

[Minarvia]

I think of myself as a critical thinker. Or at least I try to be. Of course some of the subjects that pop up go way over my head so I just withhold judgment until I do understand. If ever...

[Hokulele]

The main problem I have with the public perception of skepticism is that it tends to be seen as something that is supposed to be applied to others, rather than to one's self. For me, skepticism is about what I believe to be true (or false) and why, not necessarily about what you (the general you) believe. Skepticism and critical thinking are applied when I examine my beliefs, particularly in light of new evidence, to see if they still hold or if they need to be changed. I do try to apply that to all areas of my life, not just the ones listed in the poll (eg. political, financial, emotional, etc.)

Personally, I would call examining someone else's beliefs debunking, rather than skepticism.

I don't really have a problem with people labeling me as a skeptic, as long as I have the chance to explain what the term means to me, but I can't recall ever introducing myself to someone that way.

[Fiona]

I am not a sceptic. I will go further. I do not think there is any such thing as a "sceptic". I think the idea is woo, to be perfectly honest.

[Piscivore]

I am not a sceptic. I will go further. I do not think there is any such thing as a "sceptic". I think the idea is woo, to be perfectly honest.

I don't believe you.

[slingblade]

I think of myself as a critical-thinker-in-training. I know I don't know much, and what I do know is largely wrong. My upbringing taught me to not think, and I pretty much ruined my life because I didn't know how.

So now, I try to. I fail a lot, but this is something that, when you fail, you learn something important and lasting. I find that worthwhile.

[Trent Wray]

Hey thanx for all the great responses! Interesting ...

Hopefully I've purged all the woo from my system, by now. Yeah but are you still eating carbs? :D

I am not a sceptic, I am a critical thinker
:p Good point.

I can tell you're new to JREF, there's no Planet X option! :eye-poppi. Well, planet X exists and that's an indisputable fact, so why would I list it as an option? LOL :rolleyes:

I don't like labelling myself at all. To paraphrase Batman, it's not what I label myself but what I do that defines me.I bascially feel the same way. However I have an agnostic friend who says almost the opposite and it's always kinda bothered me -- "What I want to be says more about me than who I am," and I've always felt this was essentially the ultimate cop-out ...

The main problem I have with the public perception of skepticism is that it tends to be seen as something that is supposed to be applied to others, rather than to one's self. For me, skepticism is about what I believe to be true (or false) and why, not necessarily about what you (the general you) believe. Skepticism and critical thinking are applied when I examine my beliefs, particularly in light of new evidence, to see if they still hold or if they need to be changed. I do try to apply that to all areas of my life, not just the ones listed in the poll (eg. political, financial, emotional, etc.)

Personally, I would call examining someone else's beliefs debunking, rather than skepticism. Well said ... hmm ...

Personally, I used to label myself as an "Orthodox Blank", because I hated the ideas of labels (because of some form of angst perhaps?)

Now, I am content with being labeled "human". To me, it's an honorary label that invokes both shame and pride depending on the time of day ... and I'm okay with that, even when I forget it ;)

[Skeptic Ginger]

This poll is soo open to interpretation as to be rather meaningless.

[Gregoire]

The main problem I have with the public perception of skepticism is that it tends to be seen as something that is supposed to be applied to others, rather than to one's self. For me, skepticism is about what I believe to be true (or false) and why, not necessarily about what you (the general you) believe. Skepticism and critical thinking are applied when I examine my beliefs, particularly in light of new evidence, to see if they still hold or if they need to be changed. I do try to apply that to all areas of my life, not just the ones listed in the poll (eg. political, financial, emotional, etc.)



This reflects my sentiments as well.

Even back when I was a teenager and a member of the religion in which I was raised (Christianity), I was very interested in finding real evidence to validate my beliefs. I recall reading a religious tract about how supposed scholars found fantastic patterns in the Old Testament, by substituting numbers for letters. "Great", I thought. "Now we just need to find other Hebrew writings from that period to use as a control."

In politics I was the same way. After I left religion, I started to seriously read magazines which contradicted my point of view. I read whatever I could find, from the far right to the far left. Maybe some of them had really good reasons for supporting the issues they did that were missed by the popular press. I even went as so far as to pretend to believe (as a thought experiment) what a particular point of view said to see how far I could go with it.

In my personal life, I have always been amazed at how quickly people (including myself) find it easy to "know" the real intentions of others. And once one person says something, everyone is quick to join in and agree.

In short, I have to agree with others that skepticism to me refers to a methodology rather than a conclusion. And it really has to be applied to oneself before one can even think of applying it to others.

[VisionFromFeeling]

That's ok, trentwray, I call myself a Skeptic and by doing so am defiling the very meaning of the word, as I am more appropriately a woo. But I answered to your poll by saying I am a scientific skeptic. What on earth do you mean by religious skeptic? I thought Skeptics didn't have religion!

Good for you for intending to call yourself a Skeptic, that is what all those that are woos by choice or woos by experience should aspire to be.

ETA: I also find that your poll is biased, as there is no option for those of our members who do not consider themselves Skeptical. Always allow for the opposing opinions to also be reflected in a poll such that all persons can find a best suitable answer. There are a few woos here too, not just you and me!

[Akhenaten]

That's ok, trentwray, I call myself a Skeptic and by doing so am defiling the very meaning of the word, as I am more appropriately a woo. But I answered to your poll by saying I am a scientific skeptic. What on earth do you mean by religious skeptic? I thought Skeptics didn't have religion!





Scientific sceptics don't necessarily have any science either, it seems.



Good for you for intending to call yourself a Skeptic, that is what all those that are woos by choice or woos by experience should aspire to be.





I think it might be more useful if the woos aspired to actually being sceptics rather than just adopting the title.

There's no such thing as a woo by choice or by experience. It's an aberration, like dyslexia or colour blindness.



ETA: I also find that your poll is biased, as there is no option for those of our members who do not consider themselves Skeptical.





So, if you saw a poll in a Men's magazine asking, "What kind of Man are you?", you'd write a note to the editor complaining about the bias against women, would you? How do you think the editor might react to that?



Always allow for the opposing opinions to also be reflected in a poll such that all persons can find a best suitable answer. There are a few woos here too, not just you and me!





And your experience of conducting polls in this Forum is . . . ?

Also, "Whaddya mean 'we', white man?"

[desertgal]

So, if you saw a poll in a Men's magazine asking, "What kind of Man are you?", you'd write a note to the editor complaining about the bias against women, would you?


No, she'd write a note to the editor complaining about the bias against extraterrestrial incarnations from white dwarf stars near Arcturus, and non humans in general.

[Trent Wray]

This poll is soo open to interpretation as to be rather meaningless. But did you vote in it anyway? Just curious :)

And i gained much insight from it personally, and am grateful to any and all who voted and commented ...

In short, I have to agree with others that skepticism to me refers to a methodology rather than a conclusion. And it really has to be applied to oneself before one can even think of applying it to others. Well said I think ...

What on earth do you mean by religious skeptic? I thought Skeptics didn't have religion!The Gospel of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism)

Good for you for intending to call yourself a Skeptic, that is what all those that are woos by choice or woos by experience should aspire to be. hmm ...

ETA: I also find that your poll is biased, as there is no option for those of our members who do not consider themselves Skeptical. Always allow for the opposing opinions to also be reflected in a poll such that all persons can find a best suitable answer. There are a few woos here too, not just you and me! Yeah it was directly aimed at those individuals who consider themself "a skeptic" or "skeptical by nature but uncategorized in a 'type' of skeptic". That's why I named the thread "Types of Skeptics" lol ;)

And I thought woo was a term to describe the ideas a person believed that were fantastical, not the actual person? Am I wrong? I'm still learning the language ... but if I'm a woo then, whatever I guess LOL. I've been a gringo, a haole, a malakas, white-trash, an apostate, satan possessed, an expatriate, an illegal alien, a jock (that was the worst!), a sinner, now I guess "woo" --- and a host of other derogatory names. It all depends on what part of the world you are in and/or which culture you're dealing with. Every group of like-minded people have labels for those different than them, both positive and negative. It's just part of learning the language of a culture. Like internet speak or Mandarin Chinese or "the skeptics dictionary" which I just found LOL:
http://www.skepdic.com/

I am somewhat embarrassed though by my ignorance of "skeptical" (not meant in a derogatory or offensive way :) ) culture, language, and beliefs. I'm sure it shows unfortunately ... :(

Also, "Whaddya mean 'we', white man?" Man I grew up hearing this phrase so many times LOL

[Soapy Sam]

I consider myself a picker of nits.
eg. Does "Religious skeptic" imply scepticism of religion, scepticism of everything but religion, or the belief that scepticism is a religion?

Like other respondents, I'm unsatisfied with the term "sceptic" as inferring a standpoint on any and all issues. I'd prefer "rationalist" or " objective realist" as a description of my basic world view.

However as it is increasingly used by adherents of this and similar web forums and in the media as a label for people who are increasingly tired of irrational nonsense affecting many aspects of our lives- and who are showing some willingness to act to correct it, I think the concept of "sceptic" is an interesting and useful one.

The sort of pressure being brought to bear on some aspects of SCAM - especially in relation to taxpayer funding thereof- is one example.

In short, I see "sceptic" becoming a political descriptor, rather than scientific, philosophical or religious.

[not daSkeptic]

I dislike the idea of organized skepticism. I agree with Darat that as a tool to be employed it's fine. But as a movement I think it's too cultish.

[athon]

I dislike the idea of organized skepticism. I agree with Darat that as a tool to be employed it's fine. But as a movement I think it's too cultish.

Ditto. I've copped a bit of flak for it from certain bodies, but stand by my view that Skepticism (yep, with a big 'S') suffers from too many problems to be useful in and of itself.

At its core, I tend to find it problematic that those who adopt the title as a stand-alone noun view the word differently to the rest of the community, who will always associate it with an adjective (i.e., climate change skeptic). For most people, being skeptical means actively doubting something others believe in as opposed to an epistemology. Therefore in communicating with others, I think the term is more of an anchor than a help.

I can see merit in Skepticism drawing together people of similar values. Communities are never a bad thing, especially for those who feel they're otherwise ostracised. Yet over the years I've become way too familiar with a certain hypocrisy amongst such communities where Skepticism is something you focus on beliefs you already think are bunk. As a philosophy, a minority of so-called skeptics are really good at applying critical thinking to things. It makes for an interesting field of study, I admit - we tend to look to a person's beliefs to determine whether they're an effective critical thinker or not, forgetting that people can adopt 'good' beliefs for very social (non-skeptical) reasons.

These days I tend to sympathise with the mission of skeptical groups but have long abandoned the label for myself.

So what do I call myself? Mike, usually.

(or Athon :p)

[Akhenaten]

Man I grew up hearing this phrase so many times LOL





I knew it would Trigger someone's memory. :)

Thanks for the poll, mate. As you say, the responses are more revealing than the result of the actual voting part.

You're not very good at being a woo, you know. Nasty skeptical streak.


My very best to you,

Dave

[Trent Wray]

So what do I call myself? Mike, usually.

(or Athon :p) Yes, but why not Micha-el? :D j/k

I knew it would Trigger someone's memory. :)

Thanks for the poll, mate. As you say, the responses are more revealing than the result of the actual voting part.

You're not very good at being a woo, you know. Nasty skeptical streak.


My very best to you,

Dave Thank you kindly Dave *tip of my hat* :D I'll take kind words from an Ancient Aussie Egyptian any day ;)

And if I'm not that great at being a woo, it must mean the medication is working after all ... lol :rolleyes:

[BaaBaa]

I am not a sceptic. I will go further. I do not think there is any such thing as a "sceptic". I think the idea is woo, to be perfectly honest.
Cite your sources!