Thursday

George Hrab gets skepticism wrong


How many different ways can one get a simple philosophical concept wrong? George Hrab ( from the Geologic Podcast) shows us while speaking outside his area of expertise which is music. He has a Bachelor of Music from Moravian College (1993). He has no qualification in philosophy which is the topic of this TED talk found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orSjZaeyISI

Where George Hrab is wrong and at what stage in the lecture:


1. 0.13 "Skepticism. Why? Why not?"
He is only speaking of scientific skepticism which as small part of philosophical skepticism. I quote from https://www.britannica.com/topic/skepticism

"Skepticism ... in Western philosophy, the attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or reliability of these claims by asking what principles they are based upon or what they actually establish. They have questioned whether some such claims really are, as alleged, indubitable or necessarily true, and they have challenged the purported rational grounds of accepted assumptions."


2. 3.47 "[Skepticism is] Evidence based thinking."

I quote from http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_skepticism.html

"Skepticism ... is the philosophical position that one should refrain from making truth claims, and avoid the postulation of final truths. "


3. 6:05 "I have no faith in anything. I have trust."
I quote from
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/faith

"faith

NOUN

1 Complete trust or confidence in someone or something."


4. 6:29 "Skepticism is not a belief system ... it is a tool." 
I quote from http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_skepticism.html
"Skepticism ... is [a] philosophical position" hence a belief system.


From https://proofwiki.org/wiki/Definition:Philosophical_Position

"A philosophical position is, broadly speaking, a belief that a particular statement is either true or false."


5. 8:37 "Modern skepticism looks like this chart - a co-mingling of science education and consumer protection. ... Right in the middle is skepticism."

I again quote from http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_skepticism.html

"Skepticism ... is the philosophical position that one should refrain from making truth claims, and avoid the postulation of final truths. "

At 22:04 he states: "Learn which resources to trust." I totally agree! Don't trust this TED talk as a reliable resource on philosophical skepticism. It fails the CRAP test.

I quote from hhttps://libraries.mercer.edu/research-tools-help/citation-tools-help/images/PrintableCRAPtest.pdf

"Evaluating Research Sources
Currency ...
Reliability/Relevance ...
Authority - Who authored this information? ...
- Are their credentials provided?
- What is their reputation or expertise? *[Hint: A degree in music, and doing lots of podcasts, does not make you an expert in philosophy.] ...
Purpose/Point-of-View"

I do agree with him on another point (23:50). Treat this TED talk as an April Fool's joke. Check before you forward this post (21:48). Get an education in philosophical skepticism in the Links below. Scientific skepticism is only a very small part of philosophical skepticism.
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