Skeptics - Not Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Debunkers


As a young skeptic, it had been my dubious pleasure, at times, to discuss my skeptical approach to knowledge, life, and belief systems. These encounters, though varied in their social settings, would usually peak in a similar way: My non-skeptical companion would utilize popular pseudo-scientific mechanisms to justify her/his argument, while I would attempt to provide empirical evidence to debunk the proposed claims and expose their logical flaws.

Such seems to be the popular understanding of modern skepticism, by skeptics and non-skeptics alike. We are debunkers, self-described revealers of truth who must continually search for weakness and fault. The result? Skeptics are perceived as cynical, closed minded elitists, with nothing to add other than critique and denial. The burden of this mantle is as heavy as it is important.

In such moments of distress, where skeptisicm feels more like a burden than a candle in the dark, I would draw the attention of my fellow skeptics, and my own, to a different side of skeptisicm. Debunking false beliefs is hardly the skeptic's ultimate goal. Indeed, such a premise would suggest that skepticism would not, and could not, exist without the existense of false beliefs. I would argue that true skepticism is something beyond the identification of falsehoods; rather, it is the passionate but cautious pursuit of undiscovered truths.

An example for the difference between these two approaches to skepticism would be analogous to the difference between debunking the latest claim of "Strange lights off the coast of California" in the monthly Skeptical Inquirer, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program. Both are valid scientific approaches to concept of alien life, and both are critically important, but it is only the latter that risks being wrong. This risk is where, in my opinion, skepticism becomes truly worthwhile. Debunking falsehoods should not be the ultimate goal of critical thinking, nor should it be enough to truly satisfy the mind of a critical thinker.

It is important, therefore, to remember that exposing biases, identifying falsehoods, and contending with improper methodology, are all parts of a skeptic's toolset, not the ultimate purpose. Rather these tools were are at our disposal in order to pursue knowledge, not just debunk it. To take leap of faith while remaining loyal the rigors of scientific thinking, is at the core of human innovation, and what makes skeptical leaps of faith most inspiring.  SETI, by its very essence, is therefore skepticism at its purest: A passionate pursuit through science, a leap of faith.

So to my fellow skeptics and to myself, a reminder: Debunking is but one, albeit fun, passion of a true critical thinker.

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