[Sanskrit]

Skepticism has been long thought of a negative thing by a great majority of people. The "audacity" to question reliability of something people claim as facts, but in reality skepticism is nothing like that, it is reverence of facts and willingness to know of them in detail to draw own conclusions from them.
INTJ by nature is a skeptic, making us vilified by more sentimental types as well as groups. We question common interpretation and want the facts, we feel able to understand and confident in out ability to analyze the data as long as we are given the truth of the matter.
This does not sit well with those who are raised to enforce the common interpretation and maintain status quo.

I think Skeptics should be praised and hailed as the last honest individuals. Skepticism is humble admission that man is fallible and that each interpretation is equal in value and what truly matters is that that what you are offered is true facts, not speculation or "food chewed for you" sort of opinions.

Skepticism should be a virtue, not a sin. Therefore I invite you all to be skeptics and question everything you meet, from the very value system of your life to the spread you put on your bread. Challenge the world every day, keep it on its toes and make sure you never let any deed go without examination. As that is how you truly serve the benefit of many, a tolerant discord, and harmonious arguments made in civil manner is what combats both ignorance and corruption the best.

 

[beth x]

Even education institutions who supposedly worship critical thinking still have a within guidelines clause. I found it hard when studying literature to wonder WTF half of the lecturer's ideas came from when referencing themes, meanings and and subtext as I was thinking what if the author simply meant something private with this or what if there was no meaning intended at all, they might have just thought this sat well there....what if it was just literal? :shocked:

I think skepticism is often mistaken for cynicism and people think that you are jaded instead of just wanting to see something in a more rounded light.

 

[White River]

I'm very much in favour of challenging values and behaviours that I personally exhibit. It's very easy to get comfortable in one school of thought sometimes, but the stasis this creates can ultimately be harmful if you close yourself off to better alternatives.

It also seems to be true that the sceptical ones in society seem to be the ones who make the most profound intellectual breakthroughs. However, I think the fact that there is also a survival advantage to not being sceptical is the reason why this type of thinking is dominant in society. Maintaining status quo and not creating waves I think lead to communal acceptance which is important (especially in people-dense societies) in successful survival and reproduction.

So although I agree with your point, the pessimist in me always sees this type of thinking as being considered fringe behaviour.

 

[nonnaci]

Its not just the differences between having an opinion, voicing the opinion, and imposing an opinion. The trouble is, the dividing line between voice and imposition is not settled and you'll have many people offended by its mere presence. Think of a dead children poster. While it exists only as a visual idol, people take offense to the sight of it because it contradicts some latent belief to the purity of youth. Now is said poster "imposing" its message onto other people? Not exactly yet it trips the same psychological wires for dissonance and disgust in an often "spontaneous" fashion. e.g. Functional speaking, Si/Fe dom <- Fe/Si aux can't help it. i.e. its mere existence is an affront to the self-being and its often easier for such people to regress the present back to the past where the majority of the self holds sway.

 

[sherkanner]

I think Skeptics should be praised and hailed as the last honest individuals. Skepticism is humble admission that man is fallible and that each interpretation is equal in value and what truly matters is that that what you are offered is true facts, not speculation or "food chewed for you" sort of opinions.

Some of the skeptics are clearly dishonest as well (it's one of the way of life in France)
However, I welcome a skeptic any time, at least that person listened to me, it's already a mini victory in itself ^^

Skepticism should be a virtue, not a sin. Therefore I invite you all to be skeptics and question everything you meet, from the very value system of your life to the spread you put on your bread. Challenge the world every day, keep it on its toes and make sure you never let any deed go without examination. As that is how you truly serve the benefit of many, a tolerant discord, and harmonious arguments made in civil manner is what combats both ignorance and corruption the best.

Virtue, Sin, Hare krishna....
Agreed with you, skeptics shouldn't be put down.

I am always balancing the want to show my skepticism, and my want for world peace (stupid E9...)
I am a skeptic, I voice it, but only when I can backup my claim in a constructive manner, otherwise, I will STFU...
Skeptic just by "spirit of contradiction" ("L'esprit de contradiction" in French) is useless, and is close to cynicism.
"Esprit de contradiction": whenever somebody says white, you say black <- you get the idea.
If pushed far enough however, it is useful because it will try to find any possible flaws in one's reasoning, hence enhancing it.

 

[INTJ_Woman]

Coincidentally, I was reading Peter Gray's Psychology and here is what he has to say about the Clever Hans story:
"The value of skepticism:
People are fascinated by extraordinary claims and often act as though they want to believe them. We have no trouble at all finding otherwise rational people who believe in astrology, psychokinesis, water divining, telepathy or other occult phenomena, despite the facts that all these have consistently failed when subjected to controlled tests (Hines, 2003)......Instead of setting out to prove them correct, Pfungst set out to prove them wrong. His skepticism led him to look more carefully; to notice what others had missed, to think of an alternative, more mundane explanation and to pit the mundane explanation against the astonishing one in controlled tests....The ideal scientist always tries to disprove theories, even those that are his/her own."

 

[Zheeph]

Thanks for the invitation. I'm sure this is going to be a hell of a show for a lifetime.
Life just wouldn't be fun if I didn't question things.
I'm not planning on stopping; Too proud of it.

 

[Paradox of Vigor]

Skepticism indeed is, but so are many other forces that relate to temperament. (Particularly what I infer from Intelligent Roles)

 

[Hapalo]

there is a thin line between skepticism and annoying guy who keeps asking useless questions.

 

[dalsgaard]

Thank you, everyone ought to read your post.

Skeptics are often seen as rigid, unimaginative, square and cynical. To me, the most defining characteristic of the skeptic, is that he realizes that he is fallible. He understands that he can not always trust his eyes, ears, senses and thoughts. He has observed that things are rarely what they seem, and he has learned that the truth is hard-earned and not easily attained.

A true skeptic is also skeptical in his own skepticism, always wondering whether he is right to question. In many instances, people think skeptics are just mindless followers of conventional doctrine. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

[Owfin]

Carl Sagan is best skeptic.

 

[Tulipgarden]

My mother claimed that she saw BigFoot and posted it on my Facebook wall, just today. I'm skeptical. Very skeptical and even more disappointed. I dread the phone call later where I have to sit and listen to all kinds of crazy. And my father? Who is this extremely logical person goes along with it. After 49 years of marriage then I suppose he had to conform sometime. There must be some shared psychosis there, I'm sure of it.

My ex-husband had a class on skepticism once and guess who he took as a speaker? My mother, who comes up with all kinds of crazy unbelievable things. That was a sight behold.