Trialogues

Scepticism and the Balkanization of Epistemology

Part I
MP3 audio file. Playing time 40 mins.
Scepticism Part 1

A private trialogue from June 1998.
Not included in a book.

Where to draw the line between unanchored speculation and excessive scepticism without ruling out important discoveries?
Modern science and statistical data analysis can rule out unusual discoveries that can feed scientific progress.
Terence’s insistence on clear thinking.
Pub scepticism and new age speculation.
The problem of unanchored revelations.
The danger of dogmatic scientistic scepticism.
Staring experiments and psychic pets experiments.
Darwin’s use of information from non-professionals.
The return to a more common sense approach.
The need for a ‘fluff scale’ - but there’s no clear measuring stick for truth.
How to control ungrounded speculation without drawing the line too tight.
Paradigm shifts in science – continental drift and the ice ages.
The need to legitimise critical discussion.

Part 2
MP3 audio file. Playing time 44 mins.
Scepticism Part 2

A private trialogue from June 1998.
Not included in a book.

How could the centralised system of science funding be reformed?
The idea of a free-market approach to scientific research.
The democratisation of research science.
Rupert’s idea for a consumer report on speculative theories.
A consumer evaluation approach to different sciences.
The use of blind techniques in medicine, psychology and parapsychology.
The results of Rupert’s survey of blind techniques.
The need for blind methodology in science.
Maintaining a healthy balance between speculation and scepticism.
Comparing speculation and scepticism with novelty and habit.
The evolution of common sense.
Competition and scepticism within politics, religion and the new age.

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