What is the difference between a skeptic and someone who questions everything? Barnabas Piper provides a nice distinction: “There’s a fine line…between being someone who questions things and being a skeptic. In fact, many people would call someone who questions everything a skeptic. Here’s the thing; I don’t think many skeptics actually question anything. They may phrase their challenges as questions, but their heart is set on rejection and disproving. To truly question something is to pose questions to it and about it for the sake of understanding. This may lead to disproving or rejecting, but the heart behind it is in learning.”[1]
I think we could break down the differences between a questioner and a skeptic as follows:
Questioner: Desire to learn
Skeptic: Desire to reject/disprove accepted truth claims
Questioner: Primarily interested in maximizing true beliefs
Skeptic: Primarily interested in avoiding false beliefs
Questioner: Engage thinking
Skeptic: Avoid thinking
HT: STR
[1]Barnabas Piper, “The Unskeptical Questioner”; available from http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2011/11/unskeptical-questioner.html; Internet; accessed 10 November 2011.
Thinking to Believe 
November 16, 2011 at 3:13 am
I disagree on the last point. But agree to the rest.
The way I see it (in the context of the EU say) is that I am a skeptic. I already know that the EU is bad and will learn more in order to prove it. I wouldn’t say I avoid thinking of it though. Of course, you could argue that the label “eurosceptic” no longer fits the actual definition.
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March 22, 2014 at 7:24 am
I believe a true skeptic will only question those things that seem to require suspension of reason. For example, you read about the Malaysian Airlines plane which disappeared. As a skeptic, I don’t question the fact that we do not know where it is(hence “disappeared”), but I do question some theories behind its disappearance, such as the “black hole” theory, or the alien abduction theory. As of now, there is insufficient evidence to even propose a theory, let alone back it.
Someone I know who believes everything to do with “natural treatments” tells me things like “this turns on the stem cells to repair your heart” or “this will rebuild your lung tissue”. Where did he find out about this? “On the internet”. OK, I need more than that. Not that I’m saying the internet isn’t an impeccable source for everything! 😉 Animal trials? Human trials? “Natural food supplements” are a multi-billion dollar industry, with questionable value for most. One thing that really gets my goat is the “oxygen enriched water”, which, it is claimed. puts more oxygen in your bloodstream at $4 a quart. Breathe, people! It’s cheaper and it does a heck of a lot more than “oxygen enriched water” and you can use the money you save to plant a garden to put more oxygen in the air for you to breathe!
So a skeptic is also a questioner, and a skeptic does think. A skeptic asks for reasonable evidence to support a claim which appears to be on the wrong side of reason.
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