I'm a new subscriber happy to discover your work here as The Ethical Skeptic. What caught my eye to your substack page was your opener about Dr. Suess. I purchased the entire Seuss collection many years ago, thankfully well before the publisher voluntarily began removing certain titles for supposed political incorrectness. Just two days ago I reminded my young adult daughters that when we are all home together we have to resume reading our Dr. Seuss collection. In addition to greatly appreciating his poetic and artistic genius, I have always been amazed at how the older I get, the more I realize how he embedded profound messages about human nature and modern culture within stories ostensibly written for children. His works provide a great launching point for discussion about “adult” topics including negative ones like injustice, irrationality, hubris, spite, delusion, rationalization and positive ones like cooperation, creativity, and selflessness.
Ever since I was little many decades ago and right up to the present day my family and friends sometimes jokingly and sometimes critically refer to me as: cynic, skeptic, know-it-all, disrespectful of authority, brain, red pill, conspiracy theorist etc. Many times I feel like giving up, as it is quite draining to be nearly certain you see a situation accurately, and futilely try to convince others by citing lists of data points, connected anecdotes, reproducible experimental results, and real world experience.
Your last paragraph concerning the job of the ethical skeptic, has re-energized me to keep fighting.
I am truly looking forward to reading all of your analyses.
ES, I’ve read several of your writings, and always impressed by your explanations and critiques of pseudo-skeptics. I’ve only ever seen you mention one, David Gorski, by name in a piece from May 2012. I’m thinking you’ve probably mentioned more in articles I’ve never read. But it seems to me you’re holding back (epoche or more mundane explanation?) while the time has never been better to take the offensive and start naming names.
Yeah Douglas, part of my philosophy has been to focus on ideas and not persons, unless the person is conducting abject harm through malicious intent. Gorski falls in that camp. Even then I don't want to over-do it. But yes, this is an aspect of Epoche. People are complex, intentional, and mercurial creatures. Part of humanity is to allow them room to make mistakes, and see those mistakes for what they are - that is the best way to learn. This means that I will oppose religious zealots in the same manner as nihilist atheists - but stay focused on the argument, and not 'winning' per se, but instead trying to communicate both the discipline and freedom of ignosticism for example. Mistakes teach, truth does not.
Great piece ES. I passed on my collection of Dr. Seuss books (and the dictionary) from my childhood (60 years past Lol !) to a friends for their new born, they now read to him from the books every night.
Thanks for your intense COVID-19 tracking (and other writings), I used to follow you on Twitter but I like others evidently didn't follow the Tweet shepherd and was kicked to the curb, lol.
Glad I found you again, you force me to think. :-)
I love the Dr. Seuss weave-in, and as always, I find your thinking and writing an astonishing gift. Glad to see you here on substack.
I have a friend about my age who has a twin sister. When they were young, a kind old man up the street would come to their house and read them bedtime stories. More often than not, they were Dr. Seuss stories. The old man's name was Theodor Geisel. His middle name, of course... was Seuss.
The child that answered this reasonableness question would have read Dr. Seuss ...
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/02/everything_thats_wrong_with_american_education_summed_up_in_one_image.html
I'm a new subscriber happy to discover your work here as The Ethical Skeptic. What caught my eye to your substack page was your opener about Dr. Suess. I purchased the entire Seuss collection many years ago, thankfully well before the publisher voluntarily began removing certain titles for supposed political incorrectness. Just two days ago I reminded my young adult daughters that when we are all home together we have to resume reading our Dr. Seuss collection. In addition to greatly appreciating his poetic and artistic genius, I have always been amazed at how the older I get, the more I realize how he embedded profound messages about human nature and modern culture within stories ostensibly written for children. His works provide a great launching point for discussion about “adult” topics including negative ones like injustice, irrationality, hubris, spite, delusion, rationalization and positive ones like cooperation, creativity, and selflessness.
Ever since I was little many decades ago and right up to the present day my family and friends sometimes jokingly and sometimes critically refer to me as: cynic, skeptic, know-it-all, disrespectful of authority, brain, red pill, conspiracy theorist etc. Many times I feel like giving up, as it is quite draining to be nearly certain you see a situation accurately, and futilely try to convince others by citing lists of data points, connected anecdotes, reproducible experimental results, and real world experience.
Your last paragraph concerning the job of the ethical skeptic, has re-energized me to keep fighting.
I am truly looking forward to reading all of your analyses.
Thanks for the kind words and feedback Kev!
Ponzi Science - I like it!
ES, I’ve read several of your writings, and always impressed by your explanations and critiques of pseudo-skeptics. I’ve only ever seen you mention one, David Gorski, by name in a piece from May 2012. I’m thinking you’ve probably mentioned more in articles I’ve never read. But it seems to me you’re holding back (epoche or more mundane explanation?) while the time has never been better to take the offensive and start naming names.
Yeah Douglas, part of my philosophy has been to focus on ideas and not persons, unless the person is conducting abject harm through malicious intent. Gorski falls in that camp. Even then I don't want to over-do it. But yes, this is an aspect of Epoche. People are complex, intentional, and mercurial creatures. Part of humanity is to allow them room to make mistakes, and see those mistakes for what they are - that is the best way to learn. This means that I will oppose religious zealots in the same manner as nihilist atheists - but stay focused on the argument, and not 'winning' per se, but instead trying to communicate both the discipline and freedom of ignosticism for example. Mistakes teach, truth does not.
Great piece ES. I passed on my collection of Dr. Seuss books (and the dictionary) from my childhood (60 years past Lol !) to a friends for their new born, they now read to him from the books every night.
Thanks for your intense COVID-19 tracking (and other writings), I used to follow you on Twitter but I like others evidently didn't follow the Tweet shepherd and was kicked to the curb, lol.
Glad I found you again, you force me to think. :-)
Some childhood stories that I have found relevant over the past 24 months…
The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Fauci)
The Emperor’s New Clothes (Biden)
For a short while, I had hope that this whole mess would end with a party of Sneeches on the Beaches accepting each other.
Instead, I fear that we have quite a few grownups who are truly afraid of the monster under the bed.
Lurve ‘Perilous Poozer of Pomplemoose Pass’!
I never forgot that moniker - even calling some of my dogs by that name over the decades.
I love the Dr. Seuss weave-in, and as always, I find your thinking and writing an astonishing gift. Glad to see you here on substack.
I have a friend about my age who has a twin sister. When they were young, a kind old man up the street would come to their house and read them bedtime stories. More often than not, they were Dr. Seuss stories. The old man's name was Theodor Geisel. His middle name, of course... was Seuss.
Hey CC, very much appreciated. Wow! What an honor to have him read for them! Thanks for the readership.
TES :-)