No, You Shouldn't Question Everything

[progressoid]

Yes, it's an obvious clickbait headline. It's the kind of statement that, taken by itself without explanation or context, is sure to raise the ire of nearly anyone who considers themselves to be of a skeptical or scientific bent. Clearly, nothing should be above being questioned; but there are also a lot of ideas that just aren't worth questioning. Today I'm going to present my case for why you shouldn't question everything.

Speaking from a strictly philosophical perspective, of course you should question everything. This is a fundamental of reasoning schools from luminaries such as Socrates and Descartes. Questioning everything is a moral imperative — stemming from the recognition that nothing is above being questioned — but moreover, it's the way we learn and grow. Consider these basic reasons to question everything:

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So let's recap. We now have three tests you can apply to any concept to see whether you should question it:

Is it ridiculous?

Is it axiomatic?

Has it already been questioned to death?

If you can answer yes to any of the three, then it's almost certainly not worth questioning. Let the philosophers debate it all day long. But in the real world, questioning everything is neither healthy skepticism nor good science. It's where skepticism crosses the line into paranoia, and where good science turns into grossly inefficient science. If we can all temper our curiosity with reason, we'll find that our inquiry becomes far more productive. And I'll repeat, just so nobody's unclear on my position: No, you should not question everything.

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4530

Ironically, I'm not going to question this blog post. Mostly because I'm too tired to think about it and lunch is over. Back to work.