SKEPTICISM VS. SCIENTIFIC REALISM and RATIONALISM
( A brief essay by Ivan)
Recently someone told me, that she thought that I was a skeptic.
Therefore, to satisfy my philosophical curiosity. I gave it some
thought.
And realized that the simple definitions of skepticism and skeptics
in dictionaries is not sufficient to understand that there are
different types and levels of skepticism. Therefore, I decided to
write this short essay in order to clarify the issue.
SKEPTICISM
Skepticism is a questioning attitude or doubt toward
"knowledge claims" that are seen as mere beliefs, dogmas,
or myths. However, in good (moderate) skepticism we suspend
the judgement of weather a certain knowledge is true or false, until
sufficient evidence becomes available. In bad (radical) skepticism
we suspend judgment indefinitely or claim to be false knowledge even
when there is no evidence that it is false. Skepticism is often
applied within restricted domains such as politics, religion,
morality, or pseudoscience.
Considering the above explanation, then I am a moderate skeptic
in the domains of religions and pseudoscience. However, I am more of
a scientific realist and a
rationalist than a skeptic.
SCIENTIFIC REALISM
Scientific Realism is the philosophical view that the
universe described by science exist independently of perception, and
that verified scientific theories are at least approximately true
descriptions of what is real. Scientific realist typically assert
that science, when successful, uncovers true knowledge about nature,
including aspects of reality that are not directly observable.
RATIONALISM
Rationalism is a methodology or theory in which the criterion
of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive. It is the
epistemological view that regards reason as the chief source and
test of knowledge. The belief that reason has precedence over other
ways of acquiring knowledge.
It is obvious that rationalists and scientific realists
have "moderate skepticism" about dogmas, myths, and pseudosciences.
DOGMA: A religious doctrine that is
proclaimed as true without proof. Or a doctrine or code of beliefs
accepted as authoritative.
MITH: A traditional story accepted as
history but lacking historical evidence or historical facts.
PSEUDOSCIENCE: An activity resembling
science but based on fallacious assumptions.
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_realism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalism
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