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Debunking PseudoSkeptical Arguments of Paranormal Debunkers
Argument # 12: Skeptics
don’t
have beliefs.
They make assessments based
on evidence.
Some
skeptics on the extreme
end even go so far as to claim that unlike the rest of the world, they
don’t
have “beliefs” but reasoned judgments based on pure
evidence alone.
Not all skeptics claim to
be immune to
beliefs, but there are some
that do.
This is plain silly though,
because statements of belief can be
found in
almost anything someone says.
We all do
things and say things based on assumptions we have, which are formed in
part
based on beliefs.
These assumptions are
sometimes in the line of beliefs because they are not always based on
hard
evidence, but our world views, predisposition, and natural tendencies. Beliefs
are especially found in the skeptical
arguments discussed so far, as most of the skeptical arguments in this
book
are clear statements of a
priori
belief, such as “It is irrational to believe anything that
hasn’t been proven”
(Argument # 1)
and “Extraordinary claims require
extraordinary
evidence.”
(Argument # 2)
Further common skeptical
beliefs include “Believers in the paranormal are
irrational”, “Psi
is
improbable”, “Psychics and mediums prey on the
gullible” and “Psi
experiments
show no better than
chance results when proper controls are put into place”.
Though
skeptics will claim
that their views are based on the evidence that they’ve
examined,
they rarely
apply their skepticism to their own beliefs, which any true skeptic
would
do.
Furthermore, upon close
scrutiny
it’s obvious that they prefer false explanations to
paranormal
ones, resort to
character assassinations, and ignore data that doesn’t fit
their
hypotheses.
Strange behavior for people
who don’t have beliefs! Rather,
I
think
that skeptics are using this “I don’t have
beliefs”
argument to excuse themselves
from having to defend their views, while shifting the burden to
believers and paranormalists.
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