Thales of Miletus

Added section #4 to www.humantruth.info/skepticism.html, to celebrate the Ionian thinker Thales, who, in 600 BCE, is the earliest recognizable skeptical thinker. He correctly predicted an eclipse based on his dedicated observations of the movement of the Earth around the sun. The Greeks placed him amongst the seven greatest thinkers because of his long-term influence on proper, careful and methodical thought.

What is Skepticism and Its Values?

Skepticism has to overcome not just our natural inclinations and the difficulties we face in analyzing our own thinking errors, but also, groups that resist the very concept of evidence-based rationality.

Powerful USA Christian religious-right groups in the 1980s consistently attempted, and often succeeded, in preventing schools from teaching critical thinking or skepticism. They used legal methods, or if that failed, harassed teachers and used 'parent concern' groups to object to the content.

Link: What is Skepticism and Its Values? on humantruth.info/skepticism.html