The Need For Skeptical Belief

Psychics, demons, ghosts, aliens… there was a time when these subjects were nearly forbidden in open conversations, but today they have become a common topic. For the most part the lines are drawn between hardened skeptics and total believers, and it is difficult to convince either one that there may be other possibilities to be considered. If you want to cause even more disagreement try telling them that they are both doing exactly the same thing – which is not contributing anything useful to paranormal debate.

Writer Stuart Chase in 1888 said, “For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.” While this wasn’t directed at paranormal belief, it certainly applies to this issue. Complete skeptics will frequently use the argument that there remains no absolute scientific support of paranormal phenomena. Most skeptics state that in order for something to constitute “proof-positive” it must be subjected to physical testing or reproduced under controlled circumstances. On the other end, absolute believers often assert that experiences do not require adequate evidence to be believed, and therefore they cannot be so easily dismissed. If someone tells them they had an experience, they will accept it as truth. You can see where problems with both these arguments develop.

If you work in this field you expect to be criticized for some of the things you believe, but what is most frustrating is when the displeasure comes from both extremes. If we dare assert that claims of paranormal encounters require close examination before being considered as truth, we receive floods of argumentative remarks from absolute believers. Likewise when we stress that an individual has every right to believe in the paranormal without being obligated to provide any evidence for that belief, we are hounded by the skeptics. At SGRA our aim is to foster discussions on these topics no matter what one believes, and to provide a place where people can access information that will allow them to draw their own conclusion. We seek to encourage open mindedness, which is something that it seems few people understand the concept of.

Most people seem to think being open minded means you accept everything that is presented to you, or discount all claims that don’t offer up solid proof. This is a completely inaccurate view! In order to consider any side of paranormal possibilities you must learn to walk between these extremes. We call it teaching yourself to be a “skeptical believer” (or, for those who really don’t like the idea of being a skeptic first, you can say “believing skeptic” if you like). Either way, in order to keep yourself from falling into the area of gullibility you need to make sure you are balanced in your beliefs. Demanding that someone accept that ghosts exist merely because you had a personal experience that convinced you is as arrogant as someone who declares ghosts cannot exist simply because there has yet to be any sufficient proof. Both of these ways of thinking are completely the opposite of being open minded.

When it comes to the paranormal it is important to remember that the very definition these subjects fall outside of solid explanation. However, as in the case of UFOs, “unidentified” or “unexplained” does not mean otherworldly or suggest that there will never be a valid explanation presented, it simply says that none currently exists one way or the other. Skeptics must remember that unless an individual is asking that others take what they say as complete fact, they are under no requirement to prove what they claim. And for believers, remember that someone who says that they need more evidence before they can accept that something is in fact as unexplained as it sounds does not make them wrong.

As I often tell people during programs, “be open minded, but don’t lose your head.”