[UUPoly-L] Rational skepticism (was:"law" of attraction)

[Desmond Ravenstone <desmondravenstone@yahoo.com>]

--- On Sat, 9/27/08, Catherine Deville <catdeville@cox.net> wrote:

> ... "Rational Skepticism" *is* a philosophical POV.

I would argue that rational or scientific skepticism is a set of tools for understanding, rather than any "point of view" or "doctrine."  Yes, tools can be misused, but that doesn't mean the tools themselves are not important, or that the results made from using them properly should be ignored.

Let's say that you want to fix a broken door.  You need to understand how and why it's broken, how it can be fixed, the tools needed to do that and the best way to do them.  Now let's say someone comes along and says: "I have a better way of fixing the door."  You don't just let them at it, nor do you dismiss them out of hand.  You ask questions, and insist on evidence.  If they can show that, yes, their method is just as effective or better, then you consider using it; but if they can't, or won't, then you have every right -- even a responsibility -- to stick with what works.  Insisting on evidence that something works is not dogma, but being practical.

My own "bottom-line" question about the "law of attraction" is that its proponents don't show any proof, and even refuse to provide it.  It's one thing to say that motivation plays a factor in one's efforts, and another to insist that just believing things will happen makes them so.

One approach to thinking which I deplore -- regardless of the position taken on any question or issue -- is rigid "either/or" dualism.  I would not, for example, wholly discount Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as there are parts of it which can be shown to have practical application.  Similarly, I wouldn't discount things like the "power of positive thinking" as there is good psychological evidence that high motivation and persistence contributes to acheiving a goal.  What I would discount is the unproven assertion that belief, however sincere and strong, can somehow replace the actual effort required to make it so, just as "visualizing" a fixed door does not replace taking out the materials and wood needed to actually fix the door.

Desmond Ravenstone

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http://www.myspace.com/desmond_ravenstone