Skeptics are my Heroes!

5 Commentsby   |  09.19.10  |  Renaissance/Premodern (Part II)

It seems today especially from Christians both from catholics and protestant back grounds, that skeptics are given a bad name. In fact it was said this week in chapel that it is much harder to find the truth in something than it is to find the fault and the point was to tear down skepticism, I take offense being a skeptic myself. The renaissance shows the true greatness of being a skeptic as well as how hard it is to be a skeptic and get criticized for it. Yes, that’s right i said its harder to be a skeptic, often you become attack and in many cases are unlike especially by those you disprove, yikes. One of my heroes in particular is Galileo as his ideas of what can be considered science have driven my logical arguments for years. His ideas on Primary qualities and Secondary qualities has shaped how i look at a rational argument and what i consider to be reason or logic. Basically the idea is that only things that can be perceived or measured mathematically or can not be perceived differently by different people can be considered a primary quality or scientific. But, there was one thing that we disagreed on. I believe that psychology can be considered a science. It is not an exact science but the psychological test that show the same result time and time again such as the Milgram experiment in which the participants were ask by what was general understood to be an authority figure to shock the another participant. It is questionable what each person precieves as an authority figure and whether they felt the other participant was in any real danger. Although it showed that people are easily manipulated time and time again by an authority figure. Is it science or not? You have to be a skeptic of either psychology or galileo’s ideas about psychology, have fun!

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5 Comments

  1. Josh Morrison
    7:10 pm, 09.19.10

    It is interesting that you find being a skeptic so satisfying, it fascinates me because I can’t relate on any level. I often wrestle with whether or not Psychology is a science and I generally subscribe to the idea that it is a science and that what makes me doubt lies between scientific laws and theories. I don’t think psychology has nearly as many laws as sciences like chemistry and biology because organs and atoms aren’t as individualized as people are. As a result Psychologists seem to look for theories, not laws.

  2. Michelle Nix
    11:03 pm, 09.19.10

    I personally do not consider myself a skeptic. I am more apt to follow my convictions and a feeling rather than doubt. I can see how it is important to have skeptics in the world because they often make great discoveries. They are willing to see for the real truth when others are not. I agree that they do unfairly get bashed for their ideas. However, I do believe it is important to have those beliefs and convictions at times. I think sometimes it can be good to just believe and trust in an idea. I appreciate your opinion and are convinced that there is some truth to what you are saying.

  3. Michael Bartholomew
    12:02 am, 09.20.10

    I’m right there with you as far as skeptics goes. It’s always appeared to me that the strongest believers that aren’t afraid to ask the questions or poke holes in presumably “foolproof ideas.” In regards to the comments below, I find it kind of funny that you would find it so difficult to relate to a skeptic, but only because I have the exact some problem relating to someone that’s not.

  4. Courtney Price
    10:22 am, 09.20.10

    I completely agree with you that skeptics get a bad rep by today’s standards. I think Psychology is a science but I do not think it is a “hard” science, in the sense that chemistry is a “hard” science. I also agree with Michael that I find it more difficult to relate to someone who is not a skeptic.

  5. Austin Fontaine
    3:44 pm, 09.20.10

    I couldn’t agree more! Skepticism is what promted the discovery of a spherical earth. Skepticism is what makes the blind acceptance of what Hitler said seem so idiotic. The very use of any empirical testing is a form of skepticism in order to find out for ourself wether or not something is true. the “quest” for knowledge is skepticism, because if you simply accept the first thing you come acroos you did not quest at all; you meandered, then stopped. Skeptics are my heroes too and I am proud to say that I am one myself.

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