skepticism
Let an agent explain skepticism in its philosophical and scientific senses, distinguish evidence-based skepticism from denialism and pseudoskepticism with attribution, describe skeptical traditions and organisations, and present contested applications neutrally.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What skepticism is.
Philosophy
Philosophical skepticism.
Philosophy
Philosophy.
- What are the main forms of philosophical skepticism, from Pyrrhonism to modern epistemology, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific philosopher? action
Scientific
Scientific skepticism.
Scientific
Scientific.
- What is scientific skepticism, and how do skeptical organisations evaluate claims? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific organisation? action
Distinguish Skepticism versus denial.
Denialism
Denialism and pseudoskepticism.
Denialism
Denialism.
- How do scientists and scholars distinguish evidence-based skepticism from denialism and pseudoskepticism, and what criteria do they use? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral while accurately reporting scientific consensus? boundary
Health
Public health contexts.
Health
Health.
- How do health bodies and researchers describe vaccine hesitancy and related movements, and what do they recommend for communication? provenance
- Is the user asking for personal medical advice, which needs a clinician? boundary
Practice Practising skepticism.
Evaluate
Evaluating claims.
Evaluate
Evaluation.
- How can a claim be evaluated skeptically using evidence, source quality and logical analysis? action
- Which entry fits critical thinking? action
Religion
Religious skepticism.
Religion
Religion.
- How is skepticism treated within and toward religious traditions, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation respectful? boundary
Learn History and teaching.
History
History of skepticism.
History
History.
- How did skeptical traditions develop from antiquity to modern skeptical movements? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How can skepticism and critical thinking be taught? action
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QLT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- pseudoskepticism, COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy, distrust of centralized finance, anti-mask movement, viral denialism, Biblical teaching on skepticism, moral skepticism, philosophical skepticism, euroscepticism, religious skepticism, vaccine hesitancy, Semmelweis reflex
What it is Filled
An attitude of doubt or suspended judgement toward claims until adequate evidence is provided, ranging from philosophical skepticism about the possibility of knowledge to scientific skepticism that evaluates claims by evidence and method; the term is also applied, by observers, to doubt directed at scientific or public health consensus, such as vaccine hesitancy or denial of established findings, which scientists and scholars distinguish from evidence-based skepticism, and this entry presents these distinctions with attribution.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain skepticism in its philosophical and scientific senses, distinguish evidence-based skepticism from denialism and pseudoskepticism with attribution, describe skeptical traditions and organisations, and present contested applications neutrally.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Evidence-based doubt
- Suspended judgement
- Method-oriented
- Contested applications
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present denial of established science as healthy skepticism.
- Create false balance between settled science and fringe claims.
- Mock people for their doubts or beliefs.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing an assessment that labels a public claim or person as misleading.
May
- Apply skepticism by asking for evidence and stating confidence levels.
- Distinguish philosophical skepticism, scientific skepticism and denialism.
Moral aspects Filled
- Skepticism protects against fraud, but faked doubt has delayed action on health and climate.
Who is affected
- The public
- Scientists
- People targeted by misinformation
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the attitude; it is held in common.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q55919789 - registry parent class
related
- tendency - category
- superstition - beliefs skeptics examine
- astrology - a practice examined by skeptics
- contradictory - logical evaluation of claims
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.skepticism
- Wikidata: Q1395219 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1395219)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Doubt until evidence
- Philosophical or scientific
- Cynicism assumes bad motives; denialism rejects evidence
- Not physical; an epistemic attitude.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain philosophical and scientific skepticism
- distinguish from denialism with attribution
- describe traditions and organisations
- present contested applications neutrally
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Conflating skepticism with denialism
- Partisan framing of public health debates
- False balance on settled science
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Scientific method and evidence standards
- Public health communication guidance
- No regulation of the attitude
Context of use required Filled
- Doubt pending evidence.
- ancient and modern philosophical skepticism
- scientific skepticism
- religious skepticism
- skeptical organisations and movements
- contested uses such as science denial labelled as skepticism
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1395219: skepticism - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Skepticism - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should scientific skepticism be a separate entry?
- How should philosophical sources be linked?
- How should misinformation research be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1395219/spec.json