I have found that many people who would be called “skeptics” by the general public label themselves critical thinkers. What do you think? Is there a difference between a skeptic and a critical thinker? Or is critical thinking the method by which skeptics disprove things like ghosts, psychics, astrology, alien encounters, religious beliefs, etc?
Listen to James Randi’s TED Talk on psychic fraud, irrational beliefs, and making assumptions, and weigh in- Are skeptics the best critical thinkers?
Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens. She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training. She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting. She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.
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Randi’s talk is a great thing to link to when it comes to that question. Making the distinction is certainly worthwhile since the terms get conflated.
In my meager estimation, critical thinkers are very concerned with the process by which they reach conclusions, while skeptics could appear to be defined by their conclusions first, and employ critical thinking techniques when it suits them.
As I say, the terms get muddied. Perhaps they are better defined by their tone and/or honesty of approach.