Scientific skepticism

For a general discussion of skepticism, see skepticism.

Scientific skepticism (also spelled scepticism) is a social movement, which, starting in the 19th century questions quackery, superstitions and pseudoscience. It is aiming to clarify whether such claims are supported by empirical research and have reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K. Merton asserts that all ideas must be tested and are subject to rigorous, structured community scrutiny (as described in Mertonian norms).

The historical background of the modern sceptical movement started on controversies between established modern medicine and alternative therapies and lay healers and on the other hand, with spiritualism and alleged paranormal phenomena. A major modern milestone was the foundation of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP, now CSI) in 1976. Founded in North America by Paul Kurtz and Marcello Truzzi, this type of skeptical organization, which provides journals and publications and often uses stage magicians to debunk paranormal claims inspired similar associations world wide.

About the term and its scope

Scientific skepticism is also called rational skepticism, and it is sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry.

Scientific skepticism is different from philosophical skepticism, which questions our ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how we perceive it. Methodological skepticism, a systematic process of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth of one's beliefs, is similar but distinct. The New Skepticism described by Paul Kurtz is scientific skepticism. An important difference to classical scepticism is, according Olav Hammer, that it is not directly alined with classical pyrrhonian scepticism, which would question all sort of orthododox wisdom, as well the one established by modern science. According Hammer, "the intellectual forebears of the modern sceptical movement are rather to be found among the many writers throughout history who have argued against beliefs they did not share."

Various definitions

The following definitions related to scientific skepticism:

"A skeptic is one who prefers beliefs and conclusions that are reliable and valid to ones that are comforting or convenient, and therefore rigorously and openly applies the methods of science and reason to all empirical claims, especially their own. A skeptic provisionally proportions acceptance of any claim to valid logic and a fair and thorough assessment of available evidence, and studies the pitfalls of human reason and the mechanisms of deception so as to avoid being deceived by others or themselves. Skepticism values method over any particular conclusion."

— Steven Novella

"Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. It is the application of reason to any and all ideas—no sacred cows allowed. In other words, skepticism is a method, not a position."

— The Skeptics Society

"Skepticism is a method of examining claims about the world. The skeptical 'toolbox' includes a reliance upon reason, critical thinking, and a desire for verifiable, testable evidence about particular claims (especially extraordinary ones). Usually, the 'skeptical way of thinking' is embodied in the scientific method."

— DrinkingSkeptically.org

"... skeptics should be focused on, are focused on, have always been focused on how to think, not what to think."

— Jamy Ian Swiss

Overview

The membership is predominantly male and often has a background in the natural sciences and engineering. There is a significant lower ratio of female members and as well the humanities and social sciences have a lower place. An important difference is the one between wet and dry sceptic, the latter prefering to debunk paranormal claims, the former interested in actual examination of such phenomena. The early controversy between Kurtz and Truzzi in the USA (in Germany, a similar conflict arised around Edgar Wunder) resulted in a dominance of the dry sceptics. Scientific skeptics state to believe that empirical investigation of reality leads to the truth, and that the scientific method is best suited to this purpose.

Scientific skeptics attempt to evaluate claims based on verifiability and falsifiability and discourage accepting claims on faith or anecdotal evidence. Skeptics often focus their criticism on claims they consider to be implausible, dubious or clearly contradictory to generally accepted science. Scientific skeptics do not assert that unusual claims should be automatically rejected out of hand on a priori grounds—rather they argue that claims of paranormal or anomalous phenomena should be critically examined and that extraordinary claims would require extraordinary evidence in their favor before they could be accepted as having validity. From a scientific point of view, theories are judged on many criteria, such as falsifiability, Occam's Razor, and explanatory power, as well as the degree to which their predictions match experimental results. Skepticism is part of the scientific method; for instance an experimental result is not regarded as established until it can be shown to be repeatable independently. However, a striking characteristic of the sceptical movement is the fact, that while most of the phenomena covered, e.g. astrology or homeopathy have been debunked again and again, they stay popular.

The scientific skepticism community traditionally is focused on 'what' people believe and not 'why' they believe, there might be psychological, cognitive or instinctive reasons for belief when there is little evidence. According Hammer, the bulk of the sceptical movement literature, works on an implicite model, that believe in the irrational is being based on scientific illiteracy or cognitive illusions. He points out e.g. to the sceptical discussion about astrology: The sceptical notion of astrology as a "failed hypothesis" fails to address basic anthropological assumptions about astrology as a form of ritualized divination. While the anthropological approach allows to explain the actual activities of astrologers and their clients, the sceptical movement's interest in the cultural aspects of such practices is muted.

History of scientific skepticism

According to skeptic historian Daniel Loxton, "skepticism is a story without a beginning or an end." He argues that doubting and investigating extraordinary claims is as old as humanity itself. Throughout history, there are examples of individuals practising critical inquiry and writing books or performing publicly against particular frauds and popular superstitions, including people like Lucian of Samosata (2nd century), Michel de Montaigne (16th century), Thomas Ady and Thomas Browne (17th century), Antoine Lavoisier and Benjamin Franklin (18th century), many different philosophers, scientists and magicians throughout the 19th and early 20th century up until and after Harry Houdini. However, skeptics banding together in societies that research the paranormal and fringe science is a modern phenomenon.

Loxton mentions the Belgian Comité Para (1949) as the oldest "broad mandate" skeptical organisation. Although it was preceded by the Dutch Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (1881), which is therefore considered the oldest skeptical organisation by others, the VtdK only focuses on fighting quackery, and thus has a 'narrow mandate'. The Comité Para was partly formed as a response to a predatory industry of bogus psychics who were exploiting the grieving relatives of people who had gone missing during the Second World War. In contrast, Michael Shermer traces the origins of the modern scientific skeptical movement to Martin Gardner's 1952 book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. In 1968 the AFIS was founded in France.

Influential North American skeptics: Ray Hyman, Paul Kurtz, James Randi and Kendrick Frazier.

Although most skeptics in the English-speaking world see the 1976 formation of CSICOP in the United States as the "birth of modern skepticism", founder Paul Kurtz actually modelled it after the Comité Para, including its name. Kurtz' motive was being 'dismayed ... by the rising tide of belief in the paranormal and the lack of adequate scientific examinations of these claims.' Despite not being the oldest, CSICOP was 'the first successful, broad-mandate North American skeptical organization of the contemporary period', popularised the usage of the terms 'skeptic', 'skeptical' and 'skepticism' by its magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, and directly inspired the foundation of many other skeptical organisations throughout the world, especially in Europe. These included Australian Skeptics (1980), Vetenskap och Folkbildning (Sweden, 1982), New Zealand Skeptics (1986), GWUP (Austria, Germany and Switzerland, 1987), Skepsis r.y. (Finland, 1987), Stichting Skepsis (Netherlands, 1987), CICAP (Italy, 1989) and SKEPP (Dutch-speaking Belgium, 1990). Astronomers often stood at the cradle of skeptical organisations, but also magicians like James Randi, who formed his own James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) in 1996, were important in exposing charlatans, popularising their trickery. He invited anyone to demonstrate their claims were real with the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge. Other influential second-generation American organisations were The Skeptics Society (founded in 1992 by Michael Shermer), the New England Skeptical Society (originating in 1996) and the Independent Investigations Group (formed in 2000 by James Underdown).

After the Revolutions of 1989, Eastern Europe saw a surge in quackery and paranormal beliefs that were no longer restrained by the generally secular Communist regimes or obstructed import from Western Europe by the Iron Curtain (such as homeopathy), prompting the foundation of many new skeptical organisations to protect consumers. These included the Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos (1995), the Hungarian Skeptic Society (2006), the Polish Sceptics Club (2010) and the Russian-speaking Skeptic Society (2013). The European Skeptics Congress (ESC) has been held throughout Europe since 1989, from 1994 onwards co-ordinated by the European Council of Skeptical Organisations. In the United States, The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) hosted by the JREF in Las Vegas has been the most important skeptical conference since 2003, with two spin-off conferences in London, UK (2009 and 2010) and one in Sydney, Australia (2010). Since 2010, the Merseyside Skeptics Society and Greater Manchester Skeptics jointly organise Question, Explore, Discover (QED) in Manchester, UK. Six World Skeptics Congresses have been held so far, namely in Buffalo, New York (1996), Heidelberg, Germany (1998), Sydney, Australia (2000), Burbank, California (2002), Abano Terme, Italy (2004) and Berlin, Germany (2012).

Examples

Main article: List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Some of the topics that scientifically skeptical literature questions include health claims surrounding certain foods, procedures, and alternative medicines; the plausibility and existence of supernatural abilities (e.g. tarot reading) or entities (e.g. poltergeists, angels, gods—including Zeus); the monsters of cryptozoology (e.g. the Loch Ness monster); as well as creationism/intelligent design, dowsing, conspiracy theories, and other claims the skeptic sees as unlikely to be true on scientific grounds.

Skeptics such as James Randi have become famous for debunking claims related to some of these. Paranormal investigator Joe Nickell cautions, however, that "debunkers" must be careful to engage paranormal claims seriously and without bias. He explains that open minded investigation is more likely to teach and change minds than debunking.

Pseudoskepticism

Main article: Pseudoskepticism

Richard Cameron Wilson, in an article in New Statesman, wrote that "the bogus sceptic is, in reality, a disguised dogmatist, made all the more dangerous for his success in appropriating the mantle of the unbiased and open-minded inquirer". Some advocates of discredited intellectual positions (such as AIDS denial, Holocaust denial and Climate change denial) engage in pseudoskeptical behavior when they characterize themselves as "skeptics". This is despite their cherry picking of evidence that conforms to a pre-existing belief. According to Wilson, who highlights the phenomenon in his book Don't Get Fooled Again (2008), the characteristic feature of false skepticism is that it "centres not on an impartial search for the truth, but on the defence of a preconceived ideological position".

Scientific skepticism is itself sometimes criticized on this ground. The term pseudoskepticism has found occasional use in controversial fields where opposition from scientific skeptics is strong. For example, in 1994, Susan Blackmore, a parapsychologist who became more skeptical and eventually became a CSICOP fellow in 1991, described what she termed the "worst kind of pseudoskepticism":

"There are some members of the skeptics' groups who clearly believe they know the right answer prior to inquiry. They appear not to be interested in weighing alternatives, investigating strange claims, or trying out psychic experiences or altered states for themselves (heaven forbid!), but only in promoting their own particular belief structure and cohesion ..."

Commenting on the labels "dogmatic" and "pathological" that the "Association for Skeptical Investigation" puts on critics of paranormal investigations, Robert Todd Carroll of the Skeptic's Dictionary argues that that association "is a group of pseudo-skeptical paranormal investigators and supporters who do not appreciate criticism of paranormal studies by truly genuine skeptics and critical thinkers. The only skepticism this group promotes is skepticism of critics and [their] criticisms of paranormal studies."

Perceived dangers of pseudoscience

See also: Anti-cult movement

Skepticism is an approach to strange or unusual claims where doubt is preferred to belief, given a lack of conclusive evidence. Skeptics generally consider beliefs in the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) and psychic powers as misguided, since no empirical evidence exists supporting such phenomena. The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato believed that to release others from ignorance despite their initial resistance is a great and noble thing. Modern skeptical writers address this question in a variety of ways.

Bertrand Russell argued that individual actions are based upon the beliefs of the person acting, and if the beliefs are unsupported by evidence, then such beliefs can lead to destructive actions. James Randi also often writes on the issue of fraud by psychics and faith healers. Critics of alternative medicine often point to bad advice given by unqualified practitioners, leading to serious injury or death. Richard Dawkins points to religion as a source of violence (notably in The God Delusion), and considers creationism a threat to biology. Some skeptics, such as the members of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, oppose certain new religious movements because of their cult-like behaviours.

Notable skeptical media

See also: List of books about skepticism, List of notable skeptics, List of skeptical conferences, and List of skeptical organizations

Magazines

Main article: List of skeptical magazines

• Skeptic (US)
• Skeptical Inquirer
• The Skeptic (UK)

Television programs

• Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
• MythBusters

Podcasts

Main article: List of skeptical podcasts

• The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
• Skepticality
• The Skeptic Zone
• Skeptoid
• Point of Inquiry
• For Good Reason

See also

• Academic skepticism
• Australian Skeptics
• Brights movement
• Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP)
• Critical thinking
• Criticism of science
• Denialism
• Empiricism
• Freethought
• Inductivism
• Lists about skepticism
• Logical positivism
• Naturalism (philosophy)
• Philosophic burden of proof
• Philosophical skepticism
• Positivism
• Religious skepticism
• Replication of results
• Scientific reductionism
• Scientism
• Secular humanism
• SkeptiCamp
• The Skeptic's Dictionary
• Skeptic's Library
• Snopes.com
• Theory of justification

Further reading

• Carroll, Robert Todd (2003). The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-27242-6.

• Randi, James (June 1982). Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions. Prometheus Books. p. 342. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.

• Randi, James; Arthur C. Clarke (1997). An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 336. ISBN 0-312-15119-5.

• Sagan, Carl; Ann Druyan (1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books. p. 349. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.

• Gardner, Martin (1957). Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Dover Publications. p. 373. ISBN 0-486-20394-8.

• Shermer, Michael (1997). Why People Believe Weird Things. St Martins Griffin and Company. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-8050-7089-7.

External links

• The Skeptic's Dictionary - Carroll, Robert Todd, contains many articles on science, alternative medicine, pseudoscience, etc.
• A skeptical manifesto, Shermer, Michael, A philosophical analysis of scientific skepticism
• Proper Criticism. (csicop.org) - Hyman, Ray, Suggestions to upgrade the quality of Scientific skepticism
• Strategies for dissenting scientists. Martin, Brian, Society for Scientific Exploration. Journal of Scientific Exploration, Volume 12 No 4. 1998. (PDF), Strategies available for dissenting scientists.
• Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit. Operation Clambake. 1998. Based on the book "The Demon Haunted World: Science as a candle in the dark". (ISBN 0-345-40946-9)
• New England Skeptical Society Newsletter Articles - Includes articles on such topics as Homeopathy, Intelligent Design, and other pseudoscientific topics
• sci.skeptic FAQ
• Why Is There A Skeptical Movement? - Loxton, Daniel, Contains an overview of the history (and pre-history) of the skeptical movement as well as the principles underlying scientific skepticism.