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Transcript
- 0:00Tell me the rules of the game.
- 0:01What you say?
- 0:02Let me play.
- 0:07Thank you for joining us for episode seven, Skepticism.
- 0:11What's up, Mental?
- 0:12What's up, Rafiki?
- 0:15What's up?
- 0:17How y' all doing?
- 0:17How is everybody this evening?
- 0:19Oh, I'm great over here.
- 0:20How about y'?
- 0:21All?
- 0:22I'm doing lovely.
- 0:24Awesome.
- 0:26Some of you may heard me say you need to figure out what glasses you're looking at the world out of.
- 0:33Is it fear?
- 0:34Is it enthusiasm?
- 0:37Is it adventure?
- 0:39Is it doubt?
- 0:41You need to be honest with yourself because believe it or not, you look at everything that way.
- 0:48What do you think?
- 0:49Do you think you switch glasses on and off depending on the topic?
- 0:55I have done this type of examination on myself and determined that I'm a skeptic.
- 1:03I look at the world through skeptical glasses, at what I see and what I hear.
- 1:10Is that a good thing or bad thing?
- 1:12I don't know.
- 1:13Maybe it just is what it is.
- 1:17Are you a skeptic?
- 1:20Let's dive in and see.
- 1:22To begin with, what is a skeptic?
- 1:27A questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge.
- 1:32Claims that are seen as belief or dogma.
- 1:38Mr.
- 1:39Rafiki, what do you always say about belief?
- 1:46Belief is a doubt word because you got B and you got lie in it.
- 1:52You got got to know.
- 1:55Skepticism is a suspension of belief maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms or denies.
- 2:06Skepticism can also be applied to any topic out there, not just, you know, religion or whatever.
- 2:15You could.
- 2:16People are skeptical of a lot of things.
- 2:20There's levels to skepticism as well.
- 2:23You could be a little bit skeptical or you could be a radical skeptical.
- 2:32A radical skeptical would be.
- 2:36A lot.
- 2:36Of conspiracy theorists or radical skepticals.
- 2:40Skeptics.
- 2:42Could y' all see that?
- 2:46Yeah.
- 2:50And then a moderate skeptic, they suspend belief until they find more stronger evidence.
- 2:59I didn't ask you two guys.
- 3:02What glasses do you think your.
- 3:03You two are looking at the world out of?
- 3:05Well, I know I'm looking through the glasses of skepticism.
- 3:12How about you, Rafiki?
- 3:14It's definitely skepticism, but it's also doubt.
- 3:18Did you always know you was a skeptic?
- 3:23No, no, I believe I.
- 3:25I've always been one.
- 3:27And again, I'm saying the word believe because is a doubt.
- 3:30I've always doubted.
- 3:32But if you think about it, doubting is given a negative tone of speaking.
- 3:42But it's part of skeptic.
- 3:44And the reason why I say that, and the reason why I say that is because a lot of skeptics, they want to see.
- 3:53They want to see the evidence yes,.
- 3:57But if we think about the Bible doubting Thomas.
- 4:04Yep.
- 4:06Wasn't he given a negative connotation for doubting?
- 4:12I mean, if you actually go through throughout scripture, you'll see all kinds of doubting.
- 4:17Moses doubted.
- 4:21Now, when it comes to skepticism, there's many forms.
- 4:26You, you got any forms down there?
- 4:28Mental.
- 4:31Yeah, man.
- 4:36A philosophical skepticism.
- 4:41And that is one who rejects knowledge claims that seem certain from the perspective of common sense.
- 4:52Did you say common sense?
- 4:54Common sense.
- 4:55But y' all know what I always say, you know, that common sense ain't communist.
- 5:00They should change the name to rare sin, change the phrase from common to rare.
- 5:06So, so someone who is philosophically skeptic, they hear philosophies and they base their skepticism on if this stuff makes sense or not.
- 5:20Pretty much.
- 5:22All right, what else you got down there?
- 5:26I think I'm that one a little bit.
- 5:28Not as much as I am this next one, and it is religious skepticism relating to religion question religious authority and are not necessarily anti religious, but skeptical, critical of specific or all religious beliefs and or practices.
- 5:57Before I move into that is knowing that it's a lie and going against that is that skepticism.
- 6:06I can see where one would, would, would say you're a skeptic because you're going against it.
- 6:12But if you know it's a lie, is it really you being a skeptic?
- 6:18No, because like I said a minute ago, you got to know that's the reason why, you know, the question is always.
- 6:26Well, I asked it.
- 6:28Do you believe that your parents are your parents or do you know that your parents are your parents?
- 6:33Well, it's easier when.
- 6:36It's easier to doubt when you are not steeped or born within a certain thought.
- 6:49Religious thought.
- 6:51Right.
- 6:54But when you are born into it and you are knee deep in the middle of it, doubting actually or questioning more like is actually looked down upon.
- 7:15It is.
- 7:19Because.
- 7:19Because they're programmed.
- 7:21They're programmed.
- 7:22That's why.
- 7:23Now, now you gotta think about it.
- 7:26If you are in these systems, the system of thought, this religion, one of the things they say is you have to have faith.
- 7:39If you go back to, to what you said in the beginning for the definition of skepticism, the.
- 7:48I think one of the last words you said was dogma.
- 7:53Yep, the last word which means people to be in this belief system and, and all of that, a person needs to be dogmatic.
- 8:09And you can't be a skeptic or you can't question and be dogmatic at the same time.
- 8:20Something got to get in most settings not take it out of religious settings.
- 8:28In most settings, the person who questions is usually the one who is the outcast.
- 8:39So true.
- 8:40So true.
- 8:43Now, Rafiki, I know I tease you about.
- 8:50And you get teased before about being a library and being on the fence, but in all actuality, is having a.
- 9:01Taking a neutral approach, Is that actually a bad thing?
- 9:09No, it's not.
- 9:10It's actually a good thing.
- 9:12Why?
- 9:12Why do you think?
- 9:15Because for me, myself, I see how I.
- 9:19I see all sides of it.
- 9:22And if I stay neutral with it, I'm given not a wrong answer nor a right answer.
- 9:33I'm giving you the answer that is at hand at that particular moment.
- 9:38It's not straddling the fence like people say it is.
- 9:41It's just that I'm giving you the answer at that particular time.
- 9:46All right, well, what do you think about a neutral approach?
- 9:50Mental or a neutral attitude?
- 9:55I think you can.
- 9:56Okay, for instance, if you got a.
- 9:59Your bestest friend for the longest friend you ever had, and y' all still together, y' all don't grew up, you're cool with that person.
- 10:10If you have a family member, y' all been family your whole lives.
- 10:16And for whatever reason, your best friend and that family member get into it, get in the fight, who you gonna help?
- 10:23You gonna help your cousin?
- 10:24You gonna help your best friend?
- 10:26Then you gonna.
- 10:27You.
- 10:27You gonna feel funny taking sides.
- 10:30So you.
- 10:30You stay neutral, be the mediator.
- 10:36That's what I think of.
- 10:39But it can hurt you in the long run, though, because with the scenario.
- 10:43Scenario that you just gave, I've.
- 10:45I've been in them scenarios, and I've heard it from both sides.
- 10:49Well, why didn't you choose my side?
- 10:51Well, no, but they.
- 10:55But see, no, here's the thing about it is family will make you choose, and a friend won't make you choose.
- 11:05Okay?
- 11:06So if the family will make you choose and the friend won't make you choose, nobody can make you do anything.
- 11:16Whatever you choose to do, that was your conscious decision.
- 11:20Right?
- 11:21But the family will make you feel guilty about it.
- 11:25Well, there's no guilt.
- 11:27That's.
- 11:27That's.
- 11:27That's that.
- 11:29And that probably would be another reason.
- 11:32So there is no guilt.
- 11:34Because if you.
- 11:35If you jump in on your cousin's side, you're gonna feel bad that you didn't beat up your best friend if you didn't jump on your best friend's side.
- 11:44Now, now, now, you.
- 11:49You.
- 11:49You.
- 11:50You get in the speech.
- 11:51Don't go against family.
- 11:53But you're making me choose no, if you gotta make me choose, I don't want to with neither one of y'.
- 11:58All.
- 11:59That's just me.
- 12:00So, so true.
- 12:02Y' all good.
- 12:02Y' all kind of down the line on something that I wanted to talk about, because what y' all talking about is a subject we're gonna.
- 12:12We gonna get to.
- 12:14We talking about skeptic and skepticism.
- 12:16And I did bring up a word.
- 12:18Do you know what the opposite of skepticism is?
- 12:26You know the answer, Rafiki.
- 12:27I'll let you answer.
- 12:29Go ahead.
- 12:33Dogmatism.
- 12:35Correct.
- 12:36And what is dogmatism?
- 12:39Dogmatism implies an attitude of certainty in the form of unquestioning belief.
- 12:48You know what came to mind when I heard that definition?
- 12:50Mental.
- 12:52Having blind faith, which gets to the words you brought up a little bit earlier, Rafiki.
- 13:01Programming.
- 13:03Think about it.
- 13:04Every.
- 13:04A lot of things that people are programmed with, they're going on blind faith, unquestioning belief.
- 13:18You did bring up philosophical skepticism.
- 13:22There's.
- 13:22There's also.
- 13:24And.
- 13:24And you brought up religious skepticism.
- 13:27There's also scientific skepticism.
- 13:32Yeah.
- 13:34When thinking about scientific skepticism, I think that's what I am, man.
- 13:43Thank you.
- 13:44A scientific skepticism.
- 13:45Yeah.
- 13:46When it came to astrology, okay, because the scientific skeptics.
- 13:52Skeptic, they will have question, and then they will set out and go through the stages trying to prove if this is right or wrong.
- 14:04And so me, as a Christian, being introduced to astrology, I was a skeptic to astrology.
- 14:14This stuff is not supposed to work and all of that stuff.
- 14:18So me testing.
- 14:22Testing these techniques that I was learning about, that's me being a scientific skeptic.
- 14:29Hey, they say this, this, and this will get.
- 14:35Get you this answer.
- 14:37Let me go out here and see.
- 14:39And I come out here and I went out and talked to people to see.
- 14:43How did that work for you?
- 14:46Well, I got a podcast.
- 14:48It's called I am Astrology Readings.
- 14:58There is that scientific skepticism is the need to scrutinize knowledge claims by testing them through experimentation and a precise measurement.
- 15:16Philosophical.
- 15:17Philosophical skepticism challenges theories of thought.
- 15:24But you know what, though?
- 15:26We hit early, right?
- 15:28Like most people, when most people look at skepticism or being a skeptic, as.
- 15:34As negative.
- 15:35Right.
- 15:35But, you know, like you said, increases discussion, you know?
- 15:44You know, between people raising views about knowledge and information, whatever the field is.
- 15:49Right?
- 15:50So, I mean, there's a benefit from it, you know, like, and.
- 15:56And also, if we.
- 15:57If we look at skepticism, it.
- 16:00It probably in some cases can be mistaken as critical thinking.
- 16:06Hey, well, remember I said, hey, I wanted to bring You.
- 16:10Thumbnail.
- 16:11You.
- 16:12Well, you just beat me to the punch.
- 16:14Critical thinking.
- 16:16And we.
- 16:17We said common sense earlier, which goes back to.
- 16:21Back to.
- 16:22Back to this.
- 16:23Because.
- 16:24But I really didn't want to address that just yet, because I did want to say, let people know there are skepticism for.
- 16:35For ideology.
- 16:38Motive, like ideology motivations, like replacing inferior beliefs with better ones.
- 16:52I got.
- 16:53Do y' all have an example for that?
- 16:56Yes, I do.
- 17:00So this one lady, she was asked.
- 17:05Matter of fact, Paul, this was you.
- 17:07We were live.
- 17:08I am not going to say her name, but you asked her about.
- 17:14We was talking about religion, and she was saying that, you know, she loves her Jesus, her God, and all that other stuff.
- 17:21You asked her if she came across some better information that trumps what she believed, would she still believe what she believed?
- 17:31And her answer was yes.
- 17:37You don't think that's.
- 17:39That would be radical?
- 17:42That's what.
- 17:44What.
- 17:45Them the ones a person like that is.
- 17:49Is the ones that you leave you.
- 17:51You leave on the plantation.
- 17:54Them the ones you leave to.
- 17:56To.
- 17:56For whatever that.
- 17:58Because that person will get you hurt and.
- 18:02Or.
- 18:08Rafik, you.
- 18:09You got an example?
- 18:11You think?
- 18:11Can you think an example?
- 18:13I got one.
- 18:15Not off the top of my head, but religious is the biggest one.
- 18:20I got one for y'.
- 18:21All.
- 18:23Replacing same sex marriage with gay marriage.
- 18:31There are some as old, old people in the society, but think, hey, it's supposed to be same sex, but as the society evolves and you look at these younger people and all of that, it's all about the LGBTQ
- 18:52community, you know, and same sex.
- 18:55I mean, same sex still getting married, but it's like, hey, we need to evolve the idea or the theory of marriage.
- 19:08Yeah.
- 19:08You know, they ain't.
- 19:09Think I was gonna go there.
- 19:10Huh?
- 19:13Threw you off with that one.
- 19:17Then you have skepticism for particular goals, like bringing down a certain institution.
- 19:26That is definitely me when it comes to these schools and this religion.
- 19:32All right, well, I got a question asked real quick.
- 19:34Since we're on the radical side,.
- 19:38Wouldn't.
- 19:39Politics fall into this category as well?
- 19:43Yes, there's a lot of political.
- 19:44Radical political things.
- 19:48I mean, as far as your.
- 19:50You got your left wing, your right wing, then you got your far left, and then the far right, then you got your extreme far far right and your extreme far left.
- 20:02Yeah, things are the same.
- 20:06Rafiki.
- 20:07Who was the dude that blew up the Oklahoma bomb.
- 20:10Bomb thing?
- 20:11He was radical.
- 20:13What was.
- 20:13What was his name?
- 20:14I forgot his name.
- 20:15I don't know his name.
- 20:17Yeah.
- 20:18Timmy Tim.
- 20:18Tim McVeigh.
- 20:20Timothy McVeigh.
- 20:21Yeah, yeah, that's a political radical.
- 20:25Hey,.
- 20:29That 17 year old whose mom took him to the next state to kill people.
- 20:37Happened like last year.
- 20:4017 year old.
- 20:41I mean, all the school shoes would be the radicals as well.
- 20:45All the school shoe shooting that's happening.
- 20:47Well, not political.
- 20:49Well, you said political.
- 20:50I'll give you some more political radicals, depending on who you ask.
- 20:56Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Frederick Douglass.
- 21:06That's just some, you know, right off, right off the top of the head, depending on who was, you know, man,.
- 21:19Sitting Bull, you got Mento, they're shaking his head.
- 21:22What is it, man?
- 21:24No, I'mma keep it to myself.
- 21:25This ain't, this ain't the episode for that.
- 21:30I'mma keep it to myself.
- 21:32Hey, Donald Trump, he's a political radical in some mind.
- 21:38But hey, that ain't the only thing.
- 21:42Occupy Wall Street.
- 21:44Do you remember that movement, they were trying to bring down Wall street, you know, remember when everybody was camped out and all that around Wall street and you know what I'm saying?
- 21:58So, by the way, it's hot out of any of them.
- 22:02It's hard to refute philosophical skep ideas because when it comes to philosophy and God and all that stuff, nobody ever knows they really Right, true.
- 22:24But I'll just say this.
- 22:28Skepticism and skeptics actually help society people don't like.
- 22:34And, and, and I'll just tell you this, it helps you.
- 22:40People don't like to be questioned, right?
- 22:45But.
- 22:48Being questioned helps.
- 22:52Being questioned by somebody who's finding holes in your theory makes you go fill the gaps.
- 23:03So people don't want that responsibility.
- 23:07Now here's a question for y' all too.
- 23:11Why do you think ancient philosophers and leading thinkers at that time believe or thought will maintain the idea that skepticism is the way to inner peace?
- 23:31Because if you actually believe in every word that's ever been said and you don't have some type of suspicious about it, you're not going to go nowhere.
- 23:44You gotta have suspicious on whatever said theory is or whatever said subject is.
- 23:53If you don't, if you don't have some type of doubt within it, you're not going to push your limits in order to surpass it.
- 24:01You got to have some type of doubt because you can't have, you know, like, like we was talking about the other day with the ying and the yang, you know, if you look at it, you got the light
- 24:12and dark in both sides of those.
- 24:15So you can't really have one without the other.
- 24:18And I think you gotta have Some type of doubt along with some type of knowing that you have what say you mental.
- 24:28He pretty much said it.
- 24:31The, the having that doubt right to whatever you skeptical.
- 24:39It's, it's very peaceful when you actually know something.
- 24:47You know, nobody could, could tell you differently.
- 24:50No matter what it is that they think, if you know it, they can say what they want to say.
- 24:55You're not going to be moved by, you're not going to be emotionally attached.
- 25:03The disconnect of the emotions to said subject.
- 25:09I know it's, it's this.
- 25:11If it don't come up to this, it ain't true.
- 25:15Well, Paul, you live by a certain quote that sums it all up.
- 25:21And that quote is that you live by is trust it but verify it.
- 25:29Yeah, but, and, and I think I'm starting to grab a hold of what that concept really is.
- 25:37You're gonna believe it, but at the same time you're gonna doubt the individual until you go back and you verify your own self by doing your own research to see if they are telling you the truth.
- 25:51Because if you just go by what I'm saying and you never run and check it, you become the dogmatic side.
- 26:02Well, you now you touching on something else.
- 26:06I wanna, I'm gonna get on in a minute.
- 26:09But yeah, you corrected what you're saying.
- 26:11But yeah, my thought on why is.
- 26:20Why would skepticism.
- 26:21Well, you gotta think about this first.
- 26:26What's the opposite of skepticism?
- 26:29Dogmatic.
- 26:30Right.
- 26:32When you're dogmatic, what would you be forced to do?
- 26:37You will be forced to defend yourself, to defend your position, which will lead to arguments, a lot of them.
- 26:52Hey, being a skeptic, you're more open.
- 26:59Being more open and not having to defend anything.
- 27:04Yeah, I could see how it could lead to more happiness and peace of mind.
- 27:11By the way, back to what you just said, Rafiki.
- 27:15Trust but verify.
- 27:16Hey, I'm gonna listen to what you say, but I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna have an emotional connection to what you say.
- 27:27I' ma just listen to it for what it is.
- 27:30Then go back and see if you're telling the truth, if it resonates.
- 27:38You see what I'm saying?
- 27:39Now what you were saying for freaky.
- 27:42Let's see.
- 27:42Also, without being dogmatic, you can also become into a stale state as well.
- 27:51What do I mean by that?
- 27:53If you continuously keep going down that same path and you never work on yourself and you still hold on to that faith, that belief or whatever, eventually that energies has become stale because it's the same Thing over and
- 28:11over and over and over again and then it becomes stale and then it no longer becomes that effect effective or efficient.
- 28:20So in a way, being skeptic will balance it out, even if you are the one that's speaking it out.
- 28:34So sounding smart and being smart is two different things.
- 28:39Doubtful, disbelief, distrust, mistrust, suspicion, misbelief, pessimistic, non belief.
- 28:56What do you, what do you think though?
- 28:58All of those words are being a skeptic and skepticism.
- 29:05Now one, one of the things, oh, by the way, just to throw in, throw in here, agnostic means religious skepticism.
- 29:23Now one of the things that.
- 29:31Being doubtful or being skeptic.
- 29:35Being a skeptic, one of the things it makes you do is ask questions.
- 29:46And to ask questions you need to be what?
- 29:51Mental.
- 29:52Brought up earlier, a critical thinker.
- 29:58What is critical thinking?
- 30:00The ability to judge whether an information, whether it is an opinion or citing fact is acceptable or not.
- 30:11Do you think a large majority of the popular show, they have critical thinking skills?
- 30:21It's funny though.
- 30:22Yes, yes they do.
- 30:24Yes, they do.
- 30:25Because that's what it was in school.
- 30:28It was in school.
- 30:28They just took critical thinking out of school like the last 15, maybe 20 years.
- 30:35No longer than that.
- 30:38About 25, almost 30 years.
- 30:43So the ones that's in that cast, they know how to critical think.
- 30:51They have the skill to.
- 30:53They just choose not to do it because for whatever reason they have, critical thinking doesn't pay.
- 31:03Majority of it being acting.
- 31:05Who's on the TV show does?
- 31:09Rafiki.
- 31:10You think people ask enough questions?
- 31:13No.
- 31:16Why not?
- 31:16Why you, why do you, why do you think that?
- 31:20Because some people don't want to know the truth.
- 31:24They don't, they don't like asking questions because they think that they're dumb questions.
- 31:28When there's no dumb question out there, they don't want to act.
- 31:32Well, you know, you know, I've said rafiki.
- 31:35The truth is an acquired taste.
- 31:38Not everybody can handle it.
- 31:42Oh, or like the taste of truth.
- 31:46What's this?
- 31:47This tastes kind of bad.
- 31:49What's this?
- 31:50This truth.
- 31:55This truth need a little, little seasoning.
- 31:58It's kind of understand.
- 32:03And season.
- 32:04Wow.
- 32:06Wait, wait.
- 32:07What?
- 32:07Or would truth actually be too spicy?
- 32:15Yeah, I think that's a better, a better phrase, a better analogy.
- 32:22Truth is too spicy.
- 32:24Yeah.
- 32:27Because think about it.
- 32:28When you get to talking on whatever field and you, you get into your little zone to where you just dropping this gym and dropping that Jew, it gonna get too hot in the kitchen.
- 32:42So what you, what they tell you to do?
- 32:44When they get too hot in the kitchen, can you get out?
- 32:48You gotta get out.
- 32:50That person gonna leave it, leave it.
- 32:53Or try to change the subject.
- 32:58But I'm also reminded too that it's not that they.
- 33:02Some are afraid of the truth.
- 33:03Yes.
- 33:04But when you get.
- 33:05I think if you take a different route, people don't ask questions because they.
- 33:13What's the word I'm wanting to use?
- 33:17They don't want to know, period.
- 33:19They just don't want to know.
- 33:20They don't, they don't want to question someone who may be just sounding smart instead of being smart.
- 33:31Go ahead.
- 33:31Mental.
- 33:33I don't, I don't.
- 33:34I agree with you.
- 33:35I agree with you.
- 33:37But through, through what I see, it's, it's, it's, it's more that.
- 33:44What is it?
- 33:46Pastor told them not to question.
- 33:49You know, they've been taught that questioning is a bad thing.
- 33:54They've been taught you question anything about God's powers.
- 33:58God's is his will or whatever.
- 34:01You, you, you.
- 34:03That's, he's.
- 34:05That's frowned upon.
- 34:06So pastor put that into their head early and they just took that and, and blended in with every other aspect of life, whether it comes to, oh, information or, or whatever.
- 34:26Go ahead.
- 34:27Let me ask you this.
- 34:29You brought up pastor, but if you think about us as parents, do we tell our kids, hey, you don't question me.
- 34:39So in all actuality, we, we getting programmed to not question authority figures.
- 34:46Whatever we see as authority, we're not supposed to question it.
- 34:52We're not supposed to question.
- 34:54Right parents.
- 34:55We're not supposed to question teachers.
- 34:57We're not supposed to question the police officers.
- 35:00We're not supposed to question, question the doctors.
- 35:02We're not supposed to question, you know, any, like Paul was saying, any authority figure.
- 35:09We're not supposed to question them because they are supposed to know everything.
- 35:14And that's where the programming comes into effect.
- 35:17But yet here's the thing about it is if we don't question.
- 35:22Because people like us.
- 35:23I know I question all the time.
- 35:25Even when I was in school and I got, although I got in trouble, I used to question.
- 35:30When I was in the, in, in the church, I used to question.
- 35:34They didn't like my questions, but I asked them anyways.
- 35:39But they could never answer them because I was, I feel like I was coming into the knowing of the truth.
- 35:47And the questions I, I was asking, they was like, no, no, no, no, you can't do that.
- 35:54You're not allowed doing that.
- 35:55But here's the thing about it is.
- 35:57We are supposed to ask because if we.
- 36:02Because the suspicious side of it is the actual cinnamon, you know, similar to the skeptic.
- 36:13So it's actually a good thing to be skeptic and not a bad thing.
- 36:18Hey, have you two ever heard of Socrates?
- 36:23Have you ever heard of Socrates Mental.
- 36:26Yeah, I heard.
- 36:27Yeah, he's one of the greatest.
- 36:29But reason I wanted to say this at this moment because right after what Fiki.
- 36:35And then you take it away.
- 36:37Socrates said you maintain that an individual to have a good life or to have one that is worth living, he must be a critical questioner and possess interrogative soul.
- 36:57He established the importance of asking deep questions that probe profoundly into thinking before we accept ideas as worthy of belief.
- 37:11Seeking evidence, closely examining reasoning and assumptions, analyzing basic concepts.
- 37:21That is right where I was going.
- 37:24We, we don't question or we were taught not to question because they start surface level.
- 37:32Then as you were saying, Paul, they get deeper and deeper and people don't want to, they don't want you to answer ask these questions because one, they might not have the answer and two, it'll, it'll start to crumble
- 37:47their paradigm.
- 37:49Especially when you, if you was to get into like, well, like, like Paul, y' all heard you asked this a couple of times if Adam and Eve had two children, where they wives come from?
- 37:59Well, nobody got the answer to that right?
- 38:03Because nobody was told that.
- 38:05Why?
- 38:05Because we all know that story was made up.
- 38:08But they don't tell you that story is made up because then that will break into their pockets.
- 38:13So that's another reason we don't question.
- 38:15But that is the very exact reason why we should question.
- 38:20Because we, we, they will tell us just anything.
- 38:24And then we would go with the blind faith, as Paul said, and then you'll, you'll, you'll be walking off the cliff with the rest of the blind people.
- 38:34The blind leading the blind.
- 38:36By the way, when you say blind leading the blind, when it comes to conspiracy theories, if you really listen to them and break them down and all that, wherever they, they will tell the story.
- 38:55But then wherever they can't find an answer for that's where insert the conspiracy at that point and then the.
- 39:09Which leaps frog helps the bleed frog to the next thought because there's gaps in the story.
- 39:19And the critical thinkers are the one that sees those gaps.
- 39:24Oh, they saying this to try to segue away us from that.
- 39:29Oh, but you know, the critical thinkers, we, we're the ones that, that are labeled troublemakers.
- 39:36The critical questioners you know why?
- 39:40Because whatever your ends, like a child, they start off with one question and then you give them whatever answer.
- 39:48Everything they, every question they ask after that is going to be why.
- 39:53Then after a while you, depending on how long your patience is, you might get tired of that, you're going to get frustrated and then you're going to lash that out the child.
- 40:02Stop asking all these damn questions.
- 40:04And.
- 40:05And now that child is now associated asking questions with getting fussed at.
- 40:11Yes.
- 40:14Hey, and if you think about it in school, you know, we were, it was kind of looked down upon or we were made fun of of the, the person asking questions in class.
- 40:32Hey, why you keep asking all them questions, man?
- 40:35Stop asking all them questions, man.
- 40:37I'm trying to get out of here.
- 40:40But what about trying to understand.
- 40:44Now peer pressure.
- 40:45Now you don't want to ask any more questions.
- 40:48Now your parents and everybody else, your grades start to decline because you don't ask any more questions and you're not understanding.
- 41:00Have you ever heard of the three C's?
- 41:05Would you know?
- 41:08Yeah, you have?
- 41:09I'll just break it down.
- 41:13Three C's.
- 41:14Thinking stand stands for critical, creativity and collaboration.
- 41:20Thank you.
- 41:25Three C's.
- 41:26You said critical.
- 41:27I said critical.
- 41:30Creative, collaborative,.
- 41:35Collaborative.
- 41:36Thank you.
- 41:39In other words, you become a critical thinker as far as you all the time asking questions.
- 41:49And when you're asking your questions, you're being creative and you're trying to find solutions on how to get it resolved.
- 42:00And then what you doing when you're actually asking answer the questions you are collaborating with the next person or persons to get because you're, because you're still gathering all your information.
- 42:14You got to gather all your information when you're thinking outside the box as being a critical thinker.
- 42:20So you're asking all your, all your different questions and then you're putting it all together at the tail end to give your final answer.
- 42:31By the way, you know what type of person doesn't like questions?
- 42:38Someone who's dogmatic because, because you can ask questions in a way that makes people expose their knowledge or lack thereof.
- 42:55And asking questions highlights or points out people's inconsistency in their logic.
- 43:09Yes, indeed, by the way.
- 43:12So with that being said, Rafiki, you use the word solve and you know, we've been talking about this being skeptical, skepticism, critical thinking and all that.
- 43:30I like to help the people out though.
- 43:34How could someone improve their critical thinking skills?
- 43:42I have a list.
- 43:43I have a list.
- 43:48Four.
- 43:48I got four.
- 43:49Can I say the four real quick?
- 43:50Or no, let me, let me tell my list.
- 43:53You never know, four of yours might be on my list.
- 43:59Number one, always vet new information.
- 44:04Vetting means you know, hey, when you hear something new.
- 44:09Basically rafiki, trust but verify.
- 44:16Number two, look where the information has come from.
- 44:21Is the source trustworthy?
- 44:24Number three, consider more than one point of view.
- 44:29When looking at a situation, it's good to consider the another more than one point of view.
- 44:40Number four, practice active listening carefully.
- 44:46Listen to what others is telling you.
- 44:49Putting yourself in the other person's shoes.
- 44:55Number five, gather information.
- 44:58Gather additional information where needed gaps in the data.
- 45:05Number six, ask lots of open ended questions.
- 45:12Who, what, why?
- 45:16How?
- 45:18Find your.
- 45:19Number seven, find your own source of information.
- 45:23A place where you trust the topics and you know, hey, I heard this here, but let me go look it up over here.
- 45:31Try not.
- 45:32Number eight, try not to get your information from Instagram or TikTok.
- 45:41Don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong.
- 45:45Some of that, some of that information will spark your interest.
- 45:50But please people, go look that up.
- 45:55Go look it up as in follow up and do some homework on the topic.
- 46:04Number nine, learn to fight.
- 46:07Spot fake news and stories that people are telling you.
- 46:15Be able to listen to someone start listening to somebody tell you a story and start hearing the inconsistencies and the stuff that's not lining up.
- 46:28Number 10, learn.
- 46:32Learn to spot biased information.
- 46:36People say things because they have agenda.
- 46:41For instance, someone may be talking about against solar power and they be.
- 46:52They might be making points, good points.
- 46:54But look that person up.
- 46:58You may find out that that person has a lot of stock in the oil and gas.
- 47:05Now that person's information is biased.
- 47:10What they're saying about solar is biased because they have a dog in a fight.
- 47:20And number 11, question your own biases.
- 47:27Yeah, you, we got them too.
- 47:31That's why therapists need therapists, doctors need doctors.
- 47:38They don't go and diagnose themselves because this.
- 47:42Their diagnosis might be biased.
- 47:44Probably will.
- 47:47Hey, you heard about this dude.
- 47:53He was, it was.
- 47:57He did some.
- 47:58He was one of the first surgeons like back in the 20s to the 30s or something like that.
- 48:03He was the first doctor to, to do some type of surgery.
- 48:11I forgot where it is, but here's the crazy part.
- 48:15He did it on himself.
- 48:20When you say doctors have doctors.
- 48:23Yeah.
- 48:23You know that just brought that to mind.
- 48:25Yeah, I got you, rafiki.
- 48:27You had, you had something.
- 48:29So the four that I was gonna say which probably would have summed all yours up together, which is these four Words analyze, interpret, present and evaluate.
- 48:47Yeah, that's pretty much analyze your information.
- 48:52Evaluate what you.
- 48:54The information that you gather.
- 48:57What was the other word?
- 49:00Interpret it.
- 49:01Yeah, what am I looking at?
- 49:05And you know, what.
- 49:07What is this I'm looking at?
- 49:09And then here, after further analysis, this is my conclusion, you know, but people don't do that.
- 49:17Nope.
- 49:18Well, and, but Virgos do.
- 49:22But.
- 49:23But by the way, here's the word that I wanted to bring up.
- 49:29Asking those questions and critically thinking actually helps you to do something that is looked at as a negative.
- 49:47Make better judgment.
- 49:51Paul, Paul, you ain't supposed to judge.
- 49:55No, you.
- 49:56We ain't supposed to judge.
- 49:57Man over there judging folks for only God can judge me.
- 50:08Who are you?
- 50:11All right, Tupac, Rafiki, you got any.
- 50:19You got any final thoughts on skepticism, questioning, doubt, anything?
- 50:32It's okay to ask questions.
- 50:33Ask questions.
- 50:34It's just going to help you in the long run.
- 50:37That's questions about what, Rafiki?
- 50:40Anything that you have suspicion on.
- 50:44Anything.
- 50:44If.
- 50:45If you don't think it's resonating with you or you're not understanding it, ask questions.
- 50:51Not only that, instead of asking the questions, you could ask the questions.
- 50:55If you're not satisfied with the question, go and look it up yourself.
- 51:00Run research yourself to see if the person actually told you the truth or not.
- 51:08And Rafiki, what if that person didn't?
- 51:12That's on them.
- 51:14If they.
- 51:15If, if they don't want to.
- 51:16If people.
- 51:18Okay, pal, people don't like doing the work they don't like.
- 51:24I get you.
- 51:25I get you.
- 51:26But here's what I'm asking.
- 51:29Should you not listen to that person anymore or should you go back and confront that person with the new said information?
- 51:43I mean, if you actually go and you run the research and you find something else.
- 51:48Yeah.
- 51:49Go back to the individual and have a conversation with the individual.
- 51:53How do you think that might go, though?
- 51:56I mean, hey,.
- 51:59Hey.
- 52:00I mean, you know, be that person.
- 52:03Be that person that's gonna, you know, if you got to stand your ground, stand your ground.
- 52:08Be that person.
- 52:09Be that one that, like Mental said earlier, be that person that is.
- 52:15Is.
- 52:16I forgot the exact word wording that he used.
- 52:18But be that one that questions the authority.
- 52:22Be the one to, you know, go against.
- 52:26Because sometimes we are programmed.
- 52:30We got to come up out of that program.
- 52:35We got.
- 52:37All right, Mr.
- 52:38Mental, how you want to get up out of here?
- 52:42Don't be the person to not question anything.
- 52:46Not questioning anything.
- 52:49You might as well be gullible.
- 52:52You know, being a skeptic is better than being gullible, in my opinion.
- 52:58Don't, don't.
- 53:01Don't just take anybody's word for it, you know, Question it.
- 53:07If it don't sit right with you, like Rafiki say, go do your own research.
- 53:11If you don't, that's on you, like he said.
- 53:14But at the same time, you don't have.
- 53:17You don't do the research yourself.
- 53:20You have no ground to tell anybody contrary to the statement that they're making.
- 53:28So, you know, just have your good judgment skills up the park.
- 53:33Make sure you able to discern fake news from truth.
- 53:39Speak your truth, question everything, no matter.
- 53:43Even if you do know the situation, question it anyway.
- 53:50And that's how we gonna do that.
- 53:52Till next time, you.
- 53:53All the stars shine like one.
- 53:58And I.
- 53:59I would like to just say, hey, when you just hear that word dogmatic, It makes me think,.
- 54:14Yuck.
- 54:17Dogmatic sounds like having the cooties.
- 54:20You got the cooties.
- 54:21Y' all remember the cooties.
- 54:24You got the cooties.
- 54:27I mean, you know, dogmatic sounds like you got the gooties, you know, you don't want to get this stuff up off of you.
- 54:44I mean, if you think about it, you got.
- 54:50You know that saying, you got the blind leading the blind.
- 54:55But why would you follow somebody if you don't even know if they can see?
- 55:03Do you?
- 55:04What the.
- 55:05Hey, can you read a map?
- 55:11Do you know how to read a compass?
- 55:14But I'm.
- 55:14I'm gonna just follow you just because you just want me to have blind faith.
- 55:20Just because you know what came to my mind just now.
- 55:27You ever.
- 55:27You ever.
- 55:28You ever notice when somebody is eating something and they taste something and it's bad, they'd be like this nasty.
- 55:38Here, tasted.
- 55:40You taste it?
- 55:41Hey, I just saw it on your face.
- 55:43You said it was nasty.
- 55:44Why you want me to taste the nastiness?
- 55:50Why?
- 55:51Why?
- 55:51I just can't.
- 55:52Why?
- 55:52I just can't have blind faith on that.
- 55:57But you want me, you know, to have the evidence, too.
- 56:03But you don't take that same approach when it comes to knowledge.
- 56:08You just going, hey, I'm a.
- 56:11Hey, how do you know I ain't lying to you?
- 56:13How you know?
- 56:15Hey, I.
- 56:15I tasted something and I said it tastes good, but I might be lying.
- 56:19It really tastes bad.
- 56:21I just want you to taste it, but you don't taste it.
- 56:23You just walk around telling everybody this thing tastes good and everybody tasting it but you.
- 56:32And you don't know.
- 56:34You telling everybody to eat something that tastes Like a brick, You know,.
- 56:49Hey,.
- 56:51This show goes out to all them teachers that made me feel bad about asking yourself a question because you was feeling comfortable, uncomfortable because you ain't have an answer and you was just saying, hey, you just believe this
- 57:07goes out to all y'.
- 57:08All.
- 57:09I ask questions and, and.
- 57:11And y' all ain't had no answer, and y' all made me feel bad for asking y' all questions.
- 57:19Guess what?
- 57:19Haha, joke's on you.
- 57:23I found inner peace by asking questions.
- 57:27I ain't tied to programming because I asked enough questions.
- 57:33I'm out here feeling free, talking about what I want just by asking questions.
- 57:38And matter of fact, speaking of that, I've been a skeptic longer than I thought I was a skeptic way back in my 20s because I used to rap and I wrote two songs.
- 57:52Both of them was called Questions.
- 57:55I wrote more than two songs, but I wrote two songs.
- 58:00Questions number one.
- 58:01Questions number two.
- 58:02I was having questions in my 20s and I'm 50 and I'm still questioning, asking questions, why this?
- 58:10Why that?
- 58:11Who are you?
- 58:13Why should I think that?
- 58:15I found two words found to word be that troublemaker.
- 58:20Ask the question.
- 58:21It is what it is.
- 58:24With that being said, I want to thank y' all for joining us for episode seven.
- 58:33I forgot the name Skepticism.
- 58:43I got you, man.
- 58:45Yeah.
- 58:45Oh yeah.
- 58:46With that being said, I want to thank y' all for joining us for episode seven, Skepticism.
- 58:51You know you can get in contact with me.
- 58:54I am astrology readings gmail.com, follow me on social media, Facebook, IG, tick tock same name you know I end this.
- 59:05Know thyself and balance your energy.
- 59:07What's up?
- 59:08It's question number two.
- 59:10Still missed the double and I'm rolling with the same crew now I'm strolling on the taller level grave still standing with a shovel because the devil a rebel and my own mind doing my thing and you playing with
- 59:21your own time I told you once and I'm telling you again Handle your bids if they hold back all they truly your friends to make ends is like common goal so eager to be the big man on a
- 59:32grease pole let's kick back and analyze you say you got your eyes on the process time to realize that you're more valuable without an education it's easier to fuck you in any situation Hotels comes in the new books
- 59:43go to school but we killing over fellas and hoods but who's the fool?
- 59:47Knowledge is guarded like they call the Fort Knox So many brothers on the corner with Them fat rock and everyday struggle Dealing with the crooked cop hold your shot, sweep the dirt with the mop Every knot and lock
- 59:58the country, the world, the universe all we have to do is ridiculous and start to search Stop pulling ops boys to men does it actually make you whore?
- 1:00:07Give me your leg over Tell me the rules of the game what you say let me play what you say.
- 1:00:15Let me play Fortune and fame, that's all I ever wanted I kick back and slow blunts and bottom how to get started Jump into the game not dope but survival I ask myself who truly is my rival?
- 1:00:26Scheming on the way to make meals, slam doors, the mailman steady bringing bills I'm spinning wheels, cutting konas I'm on a list of digits species don't wanna be no dona but I wanna stack chips longer than a punch
- 1:00:38of train bridge where them waves got me off balance at the ridge smelling the aroma of the cesspool Knowledge is a tool, think about it, acting a fool, I'm in a class all by myself the more I learn
- 1:00:50a step closer to truth well I be I can see all the rest of oppression, the limitations what leads to all my frustrations on top of that some haters got me down in the dumps.
- 1:00:59But watch out man cause I here comes my chop chop.
- 1:01:16Ain't no sunshine I'm still having hard time surrounding the hard quads but still I try to get mine.
- 1:01:21I'm not blind to the true colors of the system.
- 1:01:24You see a baller, the first thing you say is get him.
- 1:01:26Man, that shit sound like MCM gear.
- 1:01:28Brainwashed brothers got they home locked down in fear, it's sheer madness I'll be glad when a quest of the truth puts her into the blasting.
- 1:01:36Till then I'll be grabbing anything that comes in my way.
- 1:01:39A wise man told me once crime didn't pay.
- 1:01:41So what you say when these keys reach in Compensation harassment, an important feed an everyday struggle I have to hustle to live a little comfort and sanity.
- 1:01:50I jabble Shashira containers in 96 that's a job trying to stay alive from the quirky cops and the stick up kids Judges giving no bids for the shit I so called dead no evidence it's evident the situation I'm
- 1:02:04in is better dealt with when I'm fit But that's easy, there's many stores on the Corner rocked up 40 offices got us in a coma just pump the tweed cause it's indeed it's the bomb that I need As
- 1:02:14I spit nip the actual factuals Take sabbaticals Take a break about it M Tactical and practical Read about it.
- 1:02:25Give me a life over Tell me the rules of the game what you say, let me play what you say, let me play Give me a left over Tell me the rules of the game what you say, let
- 1:02:39me play.
- 1:03:09Sam.
- 1:03:35Sa.