The Importance Of Good Skepticism
The main topic according to this lecture discussion is skeptic that is referred to as a person who does not agree with beliefs but uses reasoning and a compelling evidence to draw conclusion on knowledge and claims. It is different from cynical, therefore, people should always opt for skeptic rather than cynical. It is very good to always use a reason and a critical thinking than rushing to conclusion when we encounter new ideas. In a learning institutions such as college, we normally receive varied new information and thoughts in class or from colleagues. Most important thing a professor requires from his student is the ability to apply a reasonable thinking when he or she is given an activity to undertake. Therefore, the student needs to have the knowledge of being a skeptic so as to always have unique understanding in very idea.
According to my thought, a good skeptic person is someone who is readily willing and able to receive new knowledge and do a critical research to know more about the background of the idea. For deeper understanding on how to be skeptical, I took a study on morality. Under this course, I obtained a new thought that morality is not only about knowing good and evil but it originates from the person’s instinct. There are a variety of opinions from different people concerning this matter, others concur with this reasoning while others differ. Moral senses are not taught by parents during human development but they can only have the influence when they are growing up. Many people who have an upright moral are believed to be following the commandments of God. According to Paul Bloom, he claimed in his book that humans are born with morality (Bloom). To ascertain Bloom’s argument, a psychologist did an experiment about ‘babies’. There were two groups of puppets, in one group one was good in that, it helped another puppet to get the ball but in the other scenario there was a puppet which was throwing away the ball instead of helping. The babies made their own judgement and liked the one which was ‘good’. Morality also can be influenced rightfully or wrongfully by the people who surrounds you.
In conclusion, it is important for us to be a good skeptic. This shows that, we need to always think critically in any information we meet so that we can follow a reasonable path. Let’s put aside rushing to agreeing with some beliefs which can take us astray but we take time and search of a rational background of the information. This method will help us to establish truth and it will also boost our discipline if we strictly follow this methodology at any time.
