The Wisdom of Skepticism

What is Knowledge?

Toolbelt of Knowledge: Practices
Skepticism
Listening
Deconstruction
Rationality
Mindfulness
Steel Manning
Common Sense

We find ourselves in a confusing and chaotic world, full of lights, colors, sounds, and forces pushing us this way and that. In order to find the comfort that comes when things make sense to us, we want to figure out why things appear the way they do. When we look to others and ask our questions, we get a multitude of answers, some of which are contradictory, and some of which seem more reasonable than others, though when pressed we may not be able to explain why. It may be tempting to go with whatever feels the most true when we hear it, but feeling true is not the same as being true. If we really want to search for truth, whatever it turns out to be, the first step is to recognize that anyone might be wrong, including ourselves. Therefore, when someone claims to know something, we should take a step back and ask ourselves whether we have good reason to believe what they are saying. Waiting to believe until an idea has been tested is an example of skepticism.

Skepticism is the mindset of putting beliefs, claims, and knowledge to the test. As humans, we are not perfect. There is always the possibility that we don’t know everything about a topic, or that we have assumptions we are not aware of, or we have made logical errors in our thinking. If we really want to believe what is as close to truth as possible, we should be skeptical of everything, even things we have believed and known for our entire lives. Not even the beliefs that we consider part of our identity, like social, rational, or religious beliefs, should be allowed a free pass. This can be frightening. After all, we may find that our most fundamental beliefs, upon which we have built our worldview and all of the rest of our knowledge, might be based on nothing better than the fear of not knowing what the real answers could be.

Many people, not understanding what skepticism means, use the word as a rationalization for disbelief. No science denier wants to be called a denier. They would rather be called skeptics. But a devotion to disagreement is no more skepticism than devotion to agreement. To be truly skeptical, you must always have your mind open to being changed if presented with a good enough argument.

Of course, we should be skeptical about science. After all, that is how science gets done. Scientists are always testing their ideas, looking for the things that don’t fit right, and then pushing and pulling on them until something breaks. When an idea with the strength to overcome every rigorous test that can be thrown at it finally meets something it cannot handle, it is cause for celebration among the scientific community. Skepticism is what keeps science thriving. No one is more skeptical about, in the true sense of the word, about science than the scientists.

We live in a culture where agreement is linked with politeness, and changing our minds is linked with deviousness. If we hold back on belief when someone tells us something, they might feel like we don’t trust them. If what they are telling us is something they hold as part of their identity, like a religious or political belief, they may feel like we are attacking them personally. When we change our minds about things, which happens a lot for skeptical thinkers, society does not see it as growing as a person, but as being wishy-washy and lacking conviction. And if we are being honest, the scope of the dark parts of reality that we will have to say “I don’t know” about can be frightening to the point of existential crisis. But this is the price we must pay in search of truth, and in return we will find the greater sense of personal security that comes with being clear and honest with ourselves about the level of certainty we have for what we know.

The ability to hold back belief, to question, to examine ideas for consistency and whether they fit into the puzzle of reality, and to always keep in mind the possibility of being wrong, is a skill that everyone should want to practice. Reality is always bigger than we know, and the only way to get a larger view of it is to allow our imperfect constructions of it to fall down when the cracks appear, so that we may build new, more accurate constructions in their place. To do that, we must always be turning the things we hear over and examining them from all sides, including everything you read on this blog. Some of the things I say are pretty weird, I know. But with skepticism as your tool, you can look at every idea that comes your way with a critical eye and separate the mud from the gold.