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Abuses of Skepticism
« on: 2003-12-05 13:00:23 » |
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Abuses of Skepticism
Doubting is a powerful tool, but it can definitely be taken too far.
Chris Mooney; December 5, 2003
An old debunker's adage goes (in various iterations), "You can never be too skeptical." Lately, largely because of my run-ins with "skeptics" of evolution, I've become increasingly convinced that this slogan is fundamentally flawed. Consider, for example, what happens when a predisposition towards skepticism leads one to doubt a consensus view in the scientific community, or to pooh-pooh a possibility that many leading scientists consider highly likely. The skeptical impulse may be valuable, but taken to extremes, it can lose its usefulness and even lead to perverse outcomes.
To Read the Entire Column Visit: http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/abuses/
Write to Chris Mooney directly at: moonecc@yahoo.com
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