Posted: Apr 20, 2014 12:15 am
Space Trucker wrote:theropod wrote:No, being a skeptic means being skeptical of unsupported assertions.
Since we have observed stellar evolution this is all hogwash.
RS
I thought being a skeptic meant being critical of all assertions? After all, doesn't assertion mean assumption?
In other words, I thought being a skeptic meant being critical of all assumptions?
Who said anything about assumptions?
No, if I tell you in a passing manner that birds are the result of a long evolutionary pathway leading back to theropod dinosaurs I'm making an unsupported assertion. When I go ahead and back all that up with instances of observational reality it becomes a supported assertion. One may still remain critical of the assertion, but one cannot deny the supporting data from observational reality. If one follows that path there is no longer skepticism but rather adherence to assumption, or a dogmatic position of being skeptical just for the sake of being skeptical. There comes a point to where remaining skeptical is stupid, like denying evolution, or gravity.
RS