Further to New science organization offers to set science free from materialism and ID and “Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science”:
We’ve all encountered these “skeptics.” Typically, despite massive evidence, they don’t accept that the universe is fine-tuned for life, and many choose to advocate an evidence-free multiverse instead. Some of them even campaign against falsifiability in science.
But many do sign on to a litany of poorly sourced causes bound together by progressive politics. See, for example, Journalist wonders, why Creation Museum inspires rage, whole foods scams don’t. Then there is the litany of causes accepted on weak evidence, warm feelings, and threats against those who doubt.
So becoming skeptical about “skepticism” might be an idea. And here indeed is Skeptical About Skeptics:
… dedicated to countering dogmatic, ill informed attacks leveled by self-styled skeptics on pioneering scientific research and researchers.
Healthy skepticism is an important part of science, and indeed of common sense. But dogmatic skepticism uses skepticism as a weapon to defend an ideology or belief system, and inhibits the spirit of inquiry.
Most self-proclaimed skeptics are believers in a materialist worldview, and dismiss any evidence for phenomena that do not agree with their assumption that minds are nothing but brain activity confined to the inside of heads.
Members of militant skeptical organizations often think of themselves as defending science and reason against superstition and credulity.
These are worthy aims, but we at Skeptical About Skeptics think that science and reason are best served by considering the evidence for unexplained phenomena scientifically rather than assuming that these phenomena do not exist because they do not fit in with materialist assumptions. More.
Materialist assumptions will not work for life forms because the principal difference between life and non-life is the high level of information, which is not a material phenomenon.
It might be a good idea to make SAS a regular stop, at least for now.
One certainly won’t hear evidence against materialism from Big Hair, whose idea of breaking news is politician Scott Walker’s views on evolution, and he is nowhere near as interested in any office-seeker’s/holder’s views on other science subjects, even pressing ones.
Any view of science becomes a straitjacket when contrary evidence cannot be considered. Then, “skepticism” is just turf protection. But that suits a dullwitted guy with a job in science and a talent for second-hand invective just fine, as we see.
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