[Content note: Atheist/skeptical inside baseball rant] Skepticism matters more than atheism or any other conclusion derived from skepticism. If you have the toolkit, you can often work through your faulty conclusions on your own, even if you dont see them as faulty right away. Skepticism as a toolkit matters more than skeptical leaders. There are plenty of famous names in our movement. We should never let that celebrity prevent us from using skepticism when they say something dubious. Everyone makes mistakes and has cognitive biases. As much as I give supremacy to skepticism as a means of understanding the world, I value being a good and compassionate person even more. I dont think the two values are in conflict, but I think if more skeptics looked at their opposition with compassion rather than ridicule and condescension, wed probably have more success. I dont mean the Deepak Chopras and other frauds of the world, but rather the people who believe them. Helping them should be the focus of the skeptical movement. There is debate to be had about how we can best reach people, and certainly having a variety of approaches is good. I guess I just wish that more people used a compassionate approach.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:49:48 +0000
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