Editing Scientific skepticism (section)

=== Pseudoskepticism ===
{{main|Pseudoskepticism}}
Richard Cameron Wilson, in an article in ''[[New Statesman]]'', wrote that "the bogus skeptic is, in reality, a disguised [[dogma]]tist, made all the more dangerous for his success in appropriating the mantle of the unbiased and open-minded inquirer". Some advocates of discredited intellectual positions (such as [[AIDS denial]], [[Holocaust denial]] and [[climate change denial]]) engage in pseudoskeptical behavior when they characterize themselves as "skeptics". This is despite their [[cherry picking]] of evidence that conforms to a pre-existing belief.<ref name="Wilson_NS">{{citation|last=Wilson|first=Richard|title=Against the Evidence|date=2008-09-18|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2008/09/evidence-sceptic-hiv-bogus|magazine=[[New Statesman]]|publisher=Progressive Media International|issn=1364-7431|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016192228/http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2008/09/evidence-sceptic-hiv-bogus|archive-date=2014-10-16}}</ref> According to Wilson, who highlights the phenomenon in his 2008 book ''Don't Get Fooled Again'', the characteristic feature of false skepticism is that it "centres not on an impartial search for the truth, but on the defence of a preconceived ideological position".<ref name="Wilson_fooled">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARNNLgAACAAJ|title=Don't get fooled again: the sceptic's guide to life|last=Wilson|first=Richard C.|publisher=Icon|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84831-014-8}}</ref>

Scientific skepticism is itself sometimes criticized on this ground. The term ''pseudoskepticism'' has found occasional use in controversial fields where opposition from scientific skeptics is strong. For example, in 1994, [[Susan Blackmore]], a parapsychologist who became more skeptical and eventually became a [[CSICOP|Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP) fellow in 1991, described what she termed the "worst kind of pseudoskepticism":

{{blockquote | There are some members of the skeptics' groups who clearly believe they know the right answer prior to inquiry. They appear not to be interested in weighing alternatives, investigating strange claims, or trying out psychic experiences or altered states for themselves (heaven forbid!), but only in promoting their own particular belief structure and cohesion&nbsp;...<ref>{{cite journal | first = J. E. | last = Kennedy | title = The capricious, actively evasive, unsustainable nature of psi: A summary and hypotheses | journal = The Journal of Parapsychology | volume = 67 | pages = 53–74 | year = 2003}} See Note 1 p. 64 quoting {{cite book | last = Blackmore | first = S. J. | year = 1994 | chapter = Women skeptics | editor1-first = L. | editor1-last = Coly | editor2-first = R. | editor2-last = White | title = Women and Parapsychology | pages = 234–236 | location =  New York | publisher = Parapsychology Foundation}}</ref>}}

Commenting on the labels "dogmatic" and "pathological" that the "Association for Skeptical Investigation"<ref name="SI">{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/New/index.html|title=Skeptical Investigations|website=Association for Skeptical Investigation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412230002/http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/homepage.html|archive-date=April 12, 2013|access-date=July 6, 2013}}</ref> puts on critics of paranormal investigations, [[Robert Todd Carroll|Bob Carroll]] of the ''[[Skeptic's Dictionary]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://skepdic.com/refuge/sheldrake.html|title=Internet Bunk|work=skepdic.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726083705/http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/sheldrake.html|archive-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> argues that that association "is a group of pseudo-skeptical paranormal investigators and supporters who do not appreciate criticism of paranormal studies by truly genuine skeptics and critical thinkers. The only skepticism this group promotes is skepticism of critics and [their] criticisms of paranormal studies."<ref name="carroll">[[Robert Todd Carroll]] "[http://skepdic.com/refuge/sheldrake.html Internet Bunk: Skeptical Investigations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726083705/http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/sheldrake.html |date=2010-07-26 }}." ''[[Skeptic's Dictionary]]''</ref>