What is skepticism?
The idea or attitude of having a doubt about things in general or a specific topic whether it is true or false is called skepticism. It is basically questioning things you don’t feel is right until you have a proof of the topic being true. Many people confuse skepticism with cynicism which are two different terms. Skepticism doesn’t mean doubting the validity of everything, it is more of questioning the facts and believe the ones that have a scientific explanation. Skeptic people usually have an open mind towards things they question and are ready to change their minds according to the facts they get. Being skeptic is usually good until a point where you start doubting everything. That’s where skepticism and cynicism cross paths. It’s all about science. It is the only thing that has evidence and can prove what is factual and what is fictional. The perfect example of skepticism are atheists. Some people believe in God, some people question God’s existence. Why can’t we see him if he is really there? Why doesn’t he talk back to us? What does he look like? Is he really there? What’s the proof that this universe was made by God? These are the questions that a skeptic person would ask instead of blindly believing that there is a God out there
Why a person should be skeptic?
A skeptic behavior will help you to gain the right knowledge about anything instead of blindly believing what someone says. Skeptic people don’t usually fall prey to frauds as they don’t blindly believe them. They will question them till the point they are satisfied that it is believable. Skepticism, the attitude of doubting and questioning things. If it wasn’t for skepticism, many things wouldn’t have been discovered. The constant questioning on how things work and getting the factual knowledge has led science to a different level. If newton hadn’t questioned WHY the apple fell on him? and WHY didn’t it go the other way? we wouldn’t be having so many interesting discoveries if the concept of gravity was not acknowledged.
Why you shouldn’t be over skeptic?
Anything that exceeds a normal level leads to something bad. Being overly skeptic can lead you to denial. A study about climate change showed that 97% of scientists believe that humans are the root reason for climate change while on the other hand, only 46% people in Australia agreed to this fact. They didn’t want to believe that it’s the humans at fault and hence they were in denial. It is in the nature of a skeptic person to question things and sometimes it can be not so pleasant for others. Constantly asking questions in the middle of an argument or explanation can be a little annoying for some people.
In the end we can say that skepticism can be a good thing until a point it takes over your mind and puts you in denial. But questioning things and asking for proofs to get the right knowledge can help you a lot in your life. It is okay to keep an open mind, but it should not be so open that you believe anything or you believe in nothing!
