Debunking the Arguments of Pseudo-Skeptics and Debunkers

 

Revised 2008

 

By Vinstonas Wu (scepcop@debunkingskeptics.com)

 

 

“Your article "debunking pseudo-skeptical arguments on paranormal debunkers" is a must read to any person who seeks to understand the nature of pseudoskepticism.”

 

“Your treatise "debunking pseudo-skeptical arguments of paranormal debunkers" is the best refutation of pseudoskeptics' arguments, tactics and fallacies to reject the evidence for paranormal phenomena. I've recommended your article to every person that I know.”

 

“I'm Jürgen and I write you from Germany. Let me tell that your article about debunkers/pseudo-skeptics of PSI is the best handbook to debate with them. I used to debate pseudo-skeptics as a pastime, using the arguments and tactics of your article.”

 

- Quotes from Readers

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

How this article came to be written

The true skeptic vs. the pseudo-skeptic

Common tactics of pseudo-skeptics

 

Section I:  General arguments against the paranormal

 

Argument # 1:  It is irrational to believe anything that hasn’t been proven.

Argument # 2:  Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

- Extraordinary evidence for 4 phenomena

Argument # 3:  The Occam’s Razor rule.

Argument # 4:  The invisible pink unicorn comparison tactic / Santa Claus gambit.

Argument # 5:  The “anecdotal evidence is invalid” argument.

- Factors measuring degree of reliability in anecdotal evidence

- The Ebay feedback test that a skeptic failed, demonstraing what they’re really about

Argument # 6:  The memory malleability argument to dismiss anecdotal evidence.

Argument # 7:  Automatic dismissal of paranormal claims as either due to 1) Mistake; 2) Lying; or 3) Hallucinating.

Argument # 8:  There is no hard evidence to support any paranormal phenomena.

Argument # 9:  Science is the only reliable method.

Argument # 10:  Paranormal and supernatural phenomena aren’t possible because they contradict all known natural laws gained from science.

Argument # 11:  Unexplainable does not mean inexplicable.

Argument # 12:  Skeptics don’t have beliefs.  They/I base our views and judgments on the degree of evidence.

Argument # 13:  A common myth is that Skepticism is cynicism.  It is not.  Skepticism is a method of inquiry.

Argument # 14:  Believers in the paranormal are thinking in primitive, irrational, childish and uninformed ways.

Argument # 15:  Skeptics are defending science and reason from a rising tide of irrationality.

 

Section II:  Arguments against specific paranormal phenomena

 

Argument # 16:  Psychics and mediums use a technique called cold reading to amaze you with accurate hits, not psychic powers.

Argument # 17:  Experiments that show evidence for psi must be replicable in order to count as evidence.

Argument # 18:  No psychic phenomenon has been demonstrated under controlled conditions.

Argument # 19:  Alternative medical practices only work due to the placebo effect.

Argument # 20:  Miracles are impossible and defy everything we know about science and anatomy.

Argument # 21:  The Skeptical explanation for answered prayers.

- My own theory on how and why prayer works

Argument # 22:  The Skeptical explanation for precognitive dreams.  

Argument # 23:  The Dying Brain Hypothesis for Near Death Experiences.  

Argument # 24:  There is no such thing as a soul or spirit that lives on after you die.  Consciousness is purely neurological and nothing else.

Argument # 25:  Spiritual experiences only exist in your mind, not in external reality.

Argument # 26:  New Age philosophies are just childish fantasies for dealing with a cold uncaring world.

Argument # 27:  There is no evidence to support the existence of UFO’s or the notion that we are being visited by extraterrestrials.

Argument # 28:  Since Evolution and natural selection are sufficient to explain the origins of life, there is no need for God to fit into the equation.

Argument # 29:  Atheists don’t hold the belief that God doesn’t exist.  An Atheist is one who is without a belief in God, or lacks a belief in him.  Therefore the burden of proof for God is on the theist, not the atheist.

Argument # 30:  The James Randi million dollar psychic challenge argument.

 

Conclusion

Reader Responses

New developments and research

Links, Blogs and Books on Pseudo-Skepticism and Paranormal Research

Appendix A:  My Presentation Outline – Skepticism vs. Psi

 

 

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