Why are Humanists so skeptical all the time?

In honor of International Skeptics Day - I prepared this little presentation on why Humanists are such skeptics.  It includes 5 reasons why skepticism is so helpful Humanists consider it an essential life skill.

Enjoy.  Oh - forgot to mention. International Skeptics Day is also Make Your Dreams Come True Day!  Skepticism can help with that too!

A Humanists guide to skepticism from Humanist Learning Systems

Overcoming Cynicism

How to be a skeptic without becoming a cynic.

The two go together in most people’s mind. People who are skeptics are often seen as annoyingly cynical.  No good news can be delivered without the cynic/skeptic throwing a big pile of doubt into the mix, ruining the good feelings of everyone.

But it doesn't have to be that way.  Doubt is a wonderful thing. Don’t get me wrong. Doubting helps ensure you find out whether what you think you know is really so. Good skeptics work very hard at figuring out what is true and what is false.  We don’t do this because we are cynics. We do this because we are optimistic we can figure out what is fact and what is fiction. In this way, doubt and skepticism are very optimistic activities.

But doing doubt well takes skill.  It takes hard work.  This is why its way easier to be a cynic.  A cynic doubts and distrusts everything. They get to appear intelligent and smart, but they are taking a shortcut by doubting everything. What they need to learn to do is to doubt their doubt.  Because while everything may not be coming up roses, that doesn't mean that everything is going to hell in a hand basket either.  As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between.

The thing I get the impression most people are cynical about is other people. At least, that’s what’s expressed to me the most. People don’t trust other people and so when I tell them they can fix a lot of their interpersonal conflicts by being compassionate with other people, they are skeptical. But really, the problem is that they are cynical. They just don’t think that other people can be trusted. Or, they are afraid of other people. Either way, they aren't willing to risk extending themselves in compassion to others. 

And that’s a shame, because most people are good people. They are nice and you actually can trust them. The fact that there are jerks among us who you can’t trust doesn't mean that everyone can’t be trusted. That’s a cynic’s shortcut to avoid having to think. Most people can be trusted and there are plenty of studies that back that up (Here’s one for example: http://www.wallettest.com/Lost_Wallet_Test/Results_Page.html)

So instead of being cynical, why not be skeptical of your “reasons” for being cynical. Why not give the other person the benefit of the doubt and see whether they are among the majority who can be trusted instead of assuming they can’t be trusted just because of you are afraid. (Though clearly, according to that study – you do need to watch your wallet around young men – once they grow up though – they become as honest as the rest of us).

Anyway – if the stats don’t convince you to trust your fellow humans and give them the benefit of the doubt, consider this. How do you want to be treated? Do you want to be given the benefit of the doubt? I know I do.  So step outside your comfort zone and take a chance on your fellow humans. After all, isn't that what being a Humanist is all about?

We need to do better

I got an email from someone over the weekend who had heard me on Skepticality.  Which is great. They were very excited to find out that they weren’t the only people who hold the Humanist philosophy and were even more excited to learn that there are Humanist groups all over the country, including where they live.

I bring this up because we Humanists need to do better.  If active members of the skeptic movement who consider themselves to be Humanists aren’t aware of the existence of the Humanist movement then we Humanists simply aren’t doing a good enough job of spreading the word.  We shouldn’t be assuming that our fellow Humanists, skeptics, freethinkers, Brights and Atheists know we exist or that we have, you know, groups and stuff. Because they don’t and won’t unless we tell them.

We also shouldn’t assume that people in these movements know whether or not they are Humanists. Again, if no one bothers to talk about the philosophy, we can’t expect people to know about it.  We need to do better. 

Rant over.