Post by red29216 on Oct 13, 2007 23:42:27 GMT -5
I believe that it is possible to break up how people generally go about arguing paranormal activities into 3 main categories.
1 - Anti-skeptics, who want to believe everything mystical and fantasy related to be true, and who will use any piece of evidence, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, to back their beliefs.
2 - Healthy skeptics, who keep an open mind to everything, but look at arguments on both sides, and determine which is more likely to be true based on common sense, rational evidence, and science.
3 - Unhealthy skeptics, who do not want to and refuse to believe in certain things, or to keep an open mind to things.
Obviously, few people ever fall exactly on one of these categories, and most fall somewhere in between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3. I am here to argue that the best way to look at things in the paranormal world (which of course includes psi) is to follow the second category, to be a healthy skeptic.
According to dictionary.com, a skeptic is:
noun
1. a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.
2. a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
So, according to dictionary.com, a skeptic is basically a person generally doubts things, and needs solid evidence before they completely believe something is possible.
Some people take skepticism too far however. If they don't find evidence for a specific phenomena, they claim that it can never happen. This is not staying with the open mind of healthy skepticism. So what a good healthy skeptic should do, is the following:
1 - Learn about the question. Learn about anything involved in it that you don't know.
2 - Listen to both sides of the views. Think about both sides of the views. Compare them with what you know, what you believe.
3 - After you come to your view on the subject, CHALLENGE it. Tell yourself your wrong, because of X or why. Keep thinking until you can find some doubt it your view.
4 - Try and prove that this doubt is wrong, and that your view is correct.
5 - If you can't prove that your doubt is wrong, conclude that it is possible, but unlikely. If you can prove your doubt is wrong, then conclude that it is possible, and likely.
6 - Always challenge your view. This is the key; don't accept what you thought yesterday. Look at it through other viewpoints.
Well, what do you guys think? Do you agree with me? Regardless of what you think, please respond and tell me what you think about it.
1 - Anti-skeptics, who want to believe everything mystical and fantasy related to be true, and who will use any piece of evidence, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, to back their beliefs.
2 - Healthy skeptics, who keep an open mind to everything, but look at arguments on both sides, and determine which is more likely to be true based on common sense, rational evidence, and science.
3 - Unhealthy skeptics, who do not want to and refuse to believe in certain things, or to keep an open mind to things.
Obviously, few people ever fall exactly on one of these categories, and most fall somewhere in between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3. I am here to argue that the best way to look at things in the paranormal world (which of course includes psi) is to follow the second category, to be a healthy skeptic.
According to dictionary.com, a skeptic is:
noun
1. a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.
2. a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
So, according to dictionary.com, a skeptic is basically a person generally doubts things, and needs solid evidence before they completely believe something is possible.
Some people take skepticism too far however. If they don't find evidence for a specific phenomena, they claim that it can never happen. This is not staying with the open mind of healthy skepticism. So what a good healthy skeptic should do, is the following:
1 - Learn about the question. Learn about anything involved in it that you don't know.
2 - Listen to both sides of the views. Think about both sides of the views. Compare them with what you know, what you believe.
3 - After you come to your view on the subject, CHALLENGE it. Tell yourself your wrong, because of X or why. Keep thinking until you can find some doubt it your view.
4 - Try and prove that this doubt is wrong, and that your view is correct.
5 - If you can't prove that your doubt is wrong, conclude that it is possible, but unlikely. If you can prove your doubt is wrong, then conclude that it is possible, and likely.
6 - Always challenge your view. This is the key; don't accept what you thought yesterday. Look at it through other viewpoints.
Well, what do you guys think? Do you agree with me? Regardless of what you think, please respond and tell me what you think about it.
