GaryJJSpate: Migrate PhenomenonInfobox to InfoboxPhenomenon

2026-08-05T13:38:46Z

Migrate PhenomenonInfobox to InfoboxPhenomenon

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GaryJJSpate: Created page with "{{PhenomenonInfobox |name=Skepticism |type=Methodological stance / movement |field=Philosophy, psychology |also_known_as=Scientific skepticism, the sceptical movement |notable_case=Founding of CSICOP (1976) |status=Mainstream methodological position }} '''Skepticism''' (in the specific sense relevant to The Vault, usually called '''scientific skepticism''') is the practice of applying critical thinking and the scientific method to evaluate extraordinary claims — inclu..."

2026-07-29T13:26:12Z

Created page with "{{PhenomenonInfobox |name=Skepticism |type=Methodological stance / movement |field=Philosophy, psychology |also_known_as=Scientific skepticism, the sceptical movement |notable_case=Founding of CSICOP (1976) |status=Mainstream methodological position }} '''Skepticism''' (in the specific sense relevant to The Vault, usually called '''scientific skepticism''') is the practice of applying critical thinking and the scientific method to evaluate extraordinary claims — inclu..."

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{{PhenomenonInfobox
|name=Skepticism
|type=Methodological stance / movement
|field=Philosophy, psychology
|also_known_as=Scientific skepticism, the sceptical movement
|notable_case=Founding of CSICOP (1976)
|status=Mainstream methodological position
}}

'''Skepticism''' (in the specific sense relevant to The Vault, usually called '''scientific skepticism''') is the practice of applying critical thinking and the scientific method to evaluate extraordinary claims — including paranormal, pseudoscientific, and pseudomedical claims — requiring empirical evidence, reproducibility, and falsifiability before accepting them.<ref name="grokipedia">{{cite web |title=Scientific skepticism |url=https://grokipedia.com/page/Scientific_skepticism |website=Grokipedia}}</ref> It is distinct from philosophical skepticism, which concerns universal doubt about the possibility of knowledge itself; scientific skepticism instead focuses on testable claims and the standard of evidence needed to accept them.<ref name="grokipedia" />

== Core principles ==

=== The burden of proof ===
Scientific skepticism generally holds that the burden of proof rests with whoever makes a claim, rather than with those questioning it — a position closely associated with the aphorism "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," often called the Sagan standard after astronomer [[Carl Sagan]], who popularised it in his 1979 book ''Broca's Brain'' and the 1980 television series ''Cosmos''.<ref name="handwiki">{{cite web |title=Sagan standard |url=https://handwiki.org/wiki/Philosophy:Sagan_standard |website=HandWiki}}</ref> Sagan is generally understood to have adapted the phrase from sociologist [[Marcello Truzzi]], who had written in 1975 that "an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof," itself echoing earlier formulations by figures including philosopher [[David Hume]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], and [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]].<ref name="handwiki" />

=== Occam's razor ===
Skeptical evaluation is closely associated with [[Occam's Razor|Occam's razor]] — the principle that, among explanations equally consistent with the evidence, the one requiring the fewest additional unproven assumptions should generally be preferred.<ref name="grokipedia" />

=== Replication and falsifiability ===
Scientific skeptics place particular weight on independent replication, arguing that a claimed effect — such as [[Extrasensory Perception|ESP]] or [[Psychokinesis]] — should be demonstrable by other researchers under similarly controlled conditions, and that a claim incapable of being tested or potentially disproven falls outside the domain science can properly evaluate at all.<ref name="grokipedia" />

== History of the organised movement ==
The modern organised skepticism movement is generally traced to 1976, when philosopher [[Paul Kurtz]] founded the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal|Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP) — now the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) — with support from figures including Carl Sagan, [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Ray Hyman]], [[James Randi]], and [[Martin Gardner]].<ref name="grokipedia" /> CSICOP launched ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine as its flagship publication, and the organisation, along with its members, became closely associated with public investigation and debunking of paranormal, alternative-medicine, and pseudoscientific claims. Hyman went on to found the annual [[Skeptic's Toolbox]] workshop in 1989, training participants directly in the movement's investigative methods.

== Skeptical figures and organisations on The Vault ==
Numerous figures documented elsewhere on The Vault are directly connected to the organised skeptical movement, including [[Ray Hyman]] (co-founder of CSICOP, investigator of [[Cold Reading]] and the [[Ganzfeld Experiment]]), [[Susan Gerbic]] (founder of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia and investigator of [[Tyler Henry]]), and [[Ciarán O'Keeffe]] (a sceptical parapsychologist associated with ''[[Most Haunted]]''). Related concepts documented separately include [[Anomalistic Psychology]], the academic field studying why people report and believe in paranormal experiences without assuming any are genuine, and [[Cold Reading]], the specific technique skeptics most often cite to explain apparently accurate psychic readings.

== Criticism of the Sagan standard ==
The phrase "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" has itself drawn academic criticism, principally on the grounds that Sagan never precisely defined what counts as "extraordinary." Critics have argued the ambiguity allows the standard to be invoked selectively — sometimes used to dismiss claims that are genuinely well-supported but simply unfamiliar, rather than claims that are actually contradicted by existing evidence.<ref name="researchgate">{{cite web |title=Do Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309305745_Do_Extraordinary_Claims_Require_Extraordinary_Evidence |website=ResearchGate}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ray Hyman]]
* [[Susan Gerbic]]
* [[Cold Reading]]
* [[Anomalistic Psychology]]
* [[:Category:Parapsychology|Parapsychology]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://skepticalinquirer.org/2025/12/the-spark-that-started-csicop/ Skeptical Inquirer — The Spark That Started CSICOP]
* [https://skepticstoolbox.org/ Skeptic's Toolbox — official site]

[[Category:Parapsychology]]

Skepticism - Revision history

GaryJJSpate: Migrate PhenomenonInfobox to InfoboxPhenomenon