The Dichotomy Of A Skeptic's Future

It is said that man, to survive, has always needed something or some belief to hold on; be it science, religion or magic. Man without a belief lacks hope (Walker, 1997). Lack of hope makes a man vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances. To avoid this vulnerability man has been holding onto different belief systems.

In William K. Clifford’s, “The Ethics of Belief (II),” he argues that humans must always question their conceptions and beliefs.

The paradox of unanimity is when a large group of decision-makers are put into a situation with absolute unanimity among them leading us to believe that there must be some kind of systematic bias or error in the process. This paradox brings about the “too good to be true” saying because the likelihood of a large group of individuals agreeing to the exact same thing without hesitation is highly unlikely.

Since people today know how to do something, then should we also know that how and what we are doing have consequences? Carson asks exactly this. Through all our actions, it is about time there was an “AH-HA!” moment where humans get that hint of reality. Carson closes with regret that her generation was not the one that possessed the ability to realize. But she looks onward by concluding that the stream of time moves forward, and as people we will move with it. Responsibility burdens the shoulder of the young, but the burden will also create opportunities to help nature, not challenge

Knowledge, the key to progress, has proven to be a human being’s most powerful and significant weapon. We gain knowledge when we put our brain to work at the problems we need to solve in life. It doesn’t matter what we are trying to accomplish, whether it be creating a new technology or learning how to put together a puzzle, the matter of fact is that both request great examination and research to resolve and learn. Scientific research is a technique used to investigate phenomena, correct previous understanding, and acquire new knowledge. Knowledge could lead us to a possible cure for cancer, an alternative for fossil fuels, and the creation of a revolutionary technology. Nevertheless, all these benefits are a reason why

Everyone should become more scientifically literate but not necessarily learn more about Biology, Chemistry, Physics and in a George Orwell essay, “What is Science?” he explains that. “Science is generally

Everyone knows that when you plan on building anything you need the proper foundations to support whatever you plan on building. Whether you are building with Legos or actual wood, having the right foundation is important. To understand what a worldview is, one must first define it. According to Hiles and Smith (2014), a worldview “is a foundational set of assumptions to which one commits that serves as a framework for understanding and interpreting reality and deeply shapes one’s behavior”. This foundation starts at the very moment someone is born because “worldviews begin to form before people are aware that they are trusting in anything” (Hiles and Smith, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to discover the

“The minute we have taken the backward step to an intangible view of our whole system of beliefs, proof, and rationalization, and seen that it works only, in spite of its pretensions, by taking the world mainly for granted, we are not in a place to contrast all these forms with an alternative reality. We cannot shed our normal responses, and if we could it would leave us with no means of conceiving a reality of any kind (Nagel, 1971; p. 723).”

W: What are sceptics? Sceptics are those who believe we have not come to the final answer, so they continue to research and learn about it to no end (185). This state in sceptics is perpetuated by uncertainty in a final answer, so further pondering and research is done on it (185).

Engraved deep in the most innate instincts of humanity is the tendency to question everything and a predisposition to look for answers for the most perplexing thoughts in some variance of a higher order being or power. Aldous Huxley’s most brave work put forth, Brave New World, presents a society or “World State” where theology as humanity knows it has been abolished and tucked away. In an ostensibly ever-increasing secular world (yes ostensibly as per studies), religion holds a most interesting role. Contrary to what one may initially think, comparing the two is not so large a task as the following words will prove.

It is often said that knowledge is power, however, one’s perspective lies at the heart of what one does with that power. Everything that is, or ever was, considered knowledge, carried a perspective and that perspective acted as a new lens. Through the lens of literature, a theme that is present in certain novels revolves around the dangers of the pursuit of knowledge. These novels suggest that the knower made a mistake in pursuing it and makes the argument that some knowledge should never be pursued. This ambiguity surrounding the ethics of the pursuit of knowledge leads to questions such as: how is a knower’s pursuit of knowledge deemed moral or immoral? Throughout history it is has been seen that scientific discoveries soon turned into toys

In a world full of false news and information, it is often difficult to distinguish truth from fiction. Many individuals assume these ideas to be true without considering the merit behind these claims. However, considering the facts, we also need to ponder this idea: Can we really know anything for certain? While Hume argues, true knowledge is impossible to obtain by using experience alone, I argue that experience is the foundation of learning and that by establishing foundational ideas, we can ultimately reach true knowledge.

13. We cannot be responsible for what we were taught to believe when we were children. We can try to apply critical thinking to those beliefs, but we can never change our minds about them. 14. I’m already very confident in my critical thinking ability, so there is no reason for me to go any further in this book.

From an early age I considered myself to be a skeptic of all different subjects. My mother said that I was always asking “why?” in order to find clarity as a child. I believe that this kind of skepticism lives in all human beings, and that a healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing. According to Paul Kurtz, “A skeptic is one who is willing to question any knowledge claim, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic and adequacy of evidence.” With that being said to what extent does clarity in definition, consistency in logic, and adequacy of evidence validate a claim in the areas of knowledge such as ethics and history? What does it take to validate a claim to the point where it becomes a personal truth? I can ask “why?” as much as I would like but when will my skepticism be satisfied and is Paul Kurtz process enough to find truth in different knowledge claims? In my opinion, Paul Kurtz has a great system of evaluation but he is leaving out a key component and that is experience.

Legends, Lore, and, Lies A Skeptic’s stance Introduction by Carl Sagan. Sagan opens the chapter by exploring what skepticism is and why it’s important to have and maintain a certain level of it. Meaning that you shouldn’t be afraid or scared to challenge someone else’s information nor should you just listen and follow everything that you hear. You shouldn’t be gullible or susceptible and fall for just anything that someone says; you should try to remember in the back of your mind that what works for some may not work for all. He also explains why in his opinion skepticism can be helpful as well as dangerous. Helpful meaning that situations that were classified situations that are labeled as being a crisis that could have been easily been