The unfortunate devolution of four crucial words
The terms identifying four of the major Greco-Roman schools now mean something not quite as lofty, and that’s not good
Way before I got interested in Greco-Roman practical philosophy I considered myself a skeptic, meaning someone who studies claims at the fringes of science, such as paranormal phenomena, UFOs, ghosts, astrology, and the like.
In that capacity I wrote (and still write) for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, I published a book on the evolution-creation controversy, one on pseudoscience for the general public, and one on the same topic for a technical audience of philosophers and scientists. For several years I even co-hosted Rationally Speaking, which used to be the official podcast of New York City Skeptics (and appears now to be defunct).
Indeed, it was my friend and producer of Rationally Speaking, Benny Pollak, who first made it clear to me that there was a problem with the very word “skeptic.” He told me that he was very excited to start the then new podcast, but then he mentioned it to a neighbor and the guy lost interest as soon as the word skeptic was mentioned. Skeptics, according to the neighbor, are naysayers and joy killers. Not interested, thank you very much.
