An Introduction to Modern Skepticism
By Eric McMillan

This is an introduction to today's skepticism, based on presentations I have given. This Internet presentation is necessarily superficial. Many books and other sites on the Internet provide more detailed information on the topics raised here. However, I hope this gives you an idea of the issues that modern skepticism takes on, and encourages you to take an approach of critical inquiry toward whatever you encounter in your life. 

Skepticism, in the sense that we use the word, is an approach of critical inquiry. It does not claim that we can know nothing. Nor is it opposed to belief. We all have and need beliefs to get through life.

But modern skepticism demands that we question what we are asked to believe or to practice. It demands we base our beliefs and practices on the best available evidence, and be prepared to give these up when they are shown to be unsupported or are surpassed by better supported alternatives. In short, it considers the world scientifically.

Critical inquiry can be applied to all matters of life from the most mundane (what brand of detergent should I buy?) to the most profound (is there a purpose to life?). In practice however the skeptical movement has focused on paranormal claims and pseudoscience. This is what modern skeptics have become best known for dealing with.

So rather than start with a philosophical treatise on the meaning of skepticism, which would be rather dull, let's get an idea of what modern skepticism is about by looking at some of the interesting issues skeptics have addressed — and we'll get to the heavier pontificating later.

I. What we're up against

The subjects that skeptics have investigated can be divided into two main groups:

A. PARANORMAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
Paranormal means "beside the normal" or "parallel to the normal reality". It includes phenomena that are supposedly supernatural and are held to be unexplained by science — sometimes even unexplainable by science. Examples, in no particular order:

Ghosts • Astrology • Fortune telling • Psychics • Faith healing • Dowsing • Communication with the dead • Crystals • Spoon bending • Channelling • Past lives • UFOs • Alien abductions • Clairvoyance • Auras • Telekinesis • Bermuda Triangle • Weeping statues • Shroud of Turin • Nostradamus • Near-death experiences • Astral projection • Pyramid Power • Bible Code • Effect of the full moon • Prophecies • Tarot cards • Psychic detectives • Mediums • I Ching • Fairies • Atlantis • Palm reading • Crop circles • Psychic surgery…. 

B. PSEUDOSCIENCE
Pseudo means fake, so this category is about fake science — things that have been given an aura of scientific legitimacy but nonetheless are unscientific, illogical, or not supported by the evidence:

Parapsychology • Homeopathy • Naturopathy • Iridology • Creationism • Cryptozoology (Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Nessie) • Recovered memory • Facilitated communication • Chiropractic • Aromatherapy • Velikovsky • Perpetual motion machines • Graphology • Ancient astronauts • Spontaneous human combustion • Biorhythms • Iridology • Therapeutic touch • Face on Mars • Moon landing myth • Reflexology…. 

Some of these items, such as UFO claims and Nessie sightings, can straddle both categories, depending on how they are being put forward. 

Then there are some things that do not easily fall into either the paranormal or pseudoscience camp. 

C. GREY AREAS
In this miscellaneous category we can lump phenomena that are not necessarily paranormal or pseudoscientific but have been scrutinized by skeptics, as well as issues about which skeptics as a group are undecided whether they should come under scientific examination. Examples:

New science • Religious claims • Cults • Hypnosis • Assassination conspiracies • Psychoanalysis • Psychotherapeutic drugs • Political claims • Effects of prayer • Holocaust denial • Racism • Cold fusion • Placebo effects • Life after death....

According to some skeptics, such as myself, every belief or practice faced by human beings can and should be subjected to critical scrutiny. Other skeptics make exceptions for experiences that they consider outside the scientific sphere.

In either case, we generally restrict our inquiry to claims that are testable. It is difficult to see, for example, how we could test the hypothesis that a Supreme Being exists, although we can certainly examine evidence that is put forward to support the claims for the existence of a god.

We also try to focus on those paranormal and pseudoscientific practices that do demonstrable harm. (More on the harm that is done later.) 

So let's look at some of the more famous cases we've checked out.