Skepticism

Skepticism (British spelling: Scepticism) can mean:

Debunkers

Debunkers are skeptics who pursue dispelling claims they believe are unsupported by evidence. Famous debunkers include James Randi, Basava Premanand, Penn and Teller and Harry Houdini. Many debunkers become rather controversial because they have strong opinions and can be vocal about things that may offend people, such as religion and pseudosciences. They often are seen as dismissive, but respond to such accusations by saying that this is because they have already seen and disproven the claim many times.

Related Topics:
Debunker - James Randi - Basava Premanand - Penn and Teller - Harry Houdini - Religion - Pseudoscience

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Critics of debunkers state that their conclusions are filled with self-interest, and that they are crusaders and true believers with a need for certainty and stability. Not rarely, both groups try to identify each other as troubled by cognitive distortions. Depending on the justification given, the term "cognitive distortion" is either a psychological explanation or just a slur.

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In particular, many pseudoscientists are quick to attack skeptics -- be they debunkers or not -- because of their resistance to their fringe ideas and theories which the scientific establishment does not accept.

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