(1) Scientists and skeptics are closed-minded and are not open to other possibilities (not open-minded).
This is by far, the most perverse, corrosive, and commonly touted criticism that the ill-informed direct towards mainstream science. The underlying idea is that scientists are too strict and constrained in their thinking. By this account, science is seen as rigid and unforgiving. The basic suggestion being made is that scientists themselves are supposed to be so ‘closed-minded’ that they will not ‘open their minds’ to other possibilities (the implication here is that these ‘other possibilities’ are actually ‘paranormal possibilities’). As a viable argument against science it is an irrelevance and a folly. This claim can occur for a variety of reasons and reflects a number of diverse errors in thinking and reason. Before the fundamental fallacies of this type of argument against science are addressed it is important to consider just what being open-minded really means (as opposed to what pseudoscience would like it to mean).
In contrast to popular opinion, being open-minded does not mean considering all and every possibility as equally viable. This is impractical and besides, many ideas and claims are completely unsupported by the evidence or are also simply ridiculous. Should we view the idea that homeopathy can cure illnesses, as being evidentially equivalent to that of mainstream medicine? The claim that the earth is flat is not as valid and evidenced as the fact that it is round – so why should we view them as equal? Is the idea that aliens may have abducted someone in the night and then returned them as equally plausible as the idea that maybe they dreamt it? For all these instances, the current evidence suggests a clear answer – no! All ideas are not equally valid, ideas that are supported by reason, and more evidence of a higher quality are more probable and more relevant than those ideas that have neither. Once acknowledged we can see that one of the main claims of pseudoscience; that of all ideas being equally valid, is clearly ridiculous. The fundamental mistake of pseudoscience is to misrepresent and misunderstand what being open-minded really means.
Therefore, being open-minded certainly does not mean accepting all manner of claims and weird ideas equally. It is not the case that all ideas and claims have equal evidential weight. To accept claims uncritically, in the absence of supporting evidence, has nothing to do with being open-minded. Accepting claims purely on the basis of belief and wishful thinking is to be credulous. Open-mindedness is often confused for credulity; the two are not the same thing. The implicit theme running through this line of fallacious argument generates a kind of false argument in that if scientists and sceptics do not endorse and embrace pseudoscientific arguments as true, this is because they must be 'closed-minded' (as opposed to the more likely explanation of the argument simply being false).
What pseudoscience fails to acknowledge is that to be truly open-minded, the researcher must entertain and consider the possibility that an idea may be true, and entertain the possibility that an idea may be completely false. Therefore, open-mindedness means the researcher is open to both possibilities! There is nothing closed minded about openly and objectively considering an idea or claim and then rejecting it. Pseudoscience seems to see open-mindedness as the uncritical acceptance of unsupported claims and ideas; to accept that which they hope is true, as opposed to that which is more likely to be true. Pseudoscience basically states that any idea should be accepted with an 'open-mind' and thus, such acceptance indexes an open mind. Clearly it does not. Pseudoscience completely fails to entertain the possibility that science has considered their suggestions, claims and arguments and merely rejected them in a fair and reasoned manner. Pseudoscience does not realise that the views of science are actually based on a considered approach. Scientists have done nothing wrong other than to back the idea with the highest quality evidence, supporting the most reasoned and the most likely account.
The reality is that science deals with the most probable and most plausible arguments and claims. Such plausibility and probability emerges through the existence of empirical data, objective facts, evidence, logic and reason. This process does not result in closed-mindedness to other possibilities, but open-mindedness to all plausible probabilities. That is to say, it results in open-mindedness to the most likely and true explanations. Being an open-minded person means considering ideas and arguments on these criteria. If the argument or claim being made can be shown to be correct, then an open-minded person will modify their views accordingly – indeed science would demand this in the face of good quality evidence. If the argument is found wanting in a number of fundamental aspects, it will be soundly rejected and with good reason.
Another problem with the ‘closed-minded’ argument against science is that it is a form of generic ad-hominem fallacy. However, instead of being directed at one person, it attacks a whole system of thought as opposed to dealing with the testable and refutable knowledge and understanding it generates. This charge is usually made by those who cannot provide any high quality data for their pet-theories or do not like the high-quality evidence science has produced. The net consequence is to attack science itself as a system of knowledge. It is also often applied in and an ad-hoc manner, where the scientist is only categorised as being closed-minded when it becomes clear they do not concur or support the position of the pseudoscientist. It has nothing to do with whether the scientist has good reason to disagree, or has evidence of a higher quality that comes to a different conclusion – the ‘close-minded’ claim gets touted simply because the pet-theory of the pseudoscientist is soundly refuted. Attacking science in this manner is an irrelevance. It is also a debating technique to shift the arguments away from the fact pseudoscience has no objective evidence or sound underlying logic. In other words, it is an attempt to hide the fact that pseudoscience struggles to produce evidence. The closed-minded argument is also a form of straw-man argument. Like all the other fallacies listed in this paper, the closed-minded claim attacks an incorrect representation of science and what being open-minded really is. This makes it easier for the pseudoscience to attack science – but in reality what they are attacking, is not the reality of science, but their straw-man which is easier to knock down.
To summarise, the objective nature of science, the acknowledgement of all scientific knowledge being regarded as provisional, the explicit methods and need for independent replication, clearly show that the process of science is indeed open-minded. In contrast to the common perception, science is not about debunking ideas and rejecting claims out of hand; it is about investigating them in a serious, sensible, and reliable manner. The explicit acknowledgement to scientific knowledge being provisional is of course in complete contrast to a belief-system or pseudoscience. Under these latter circumstances any knowledge is final, fits with pre-existing belief, is biased, swayed by irrelevant emotions and wishful thinking, cannot be questioned, and must be accepted. These beliefs require only that the individual accept them in an unquestioned manner. However, for science all knowledge is open to be independently evaluated, tested, confirmed, revised or rejected. It is somewhat ironic that belief-systems and pseudoscience charge science with being “closed minded”! Clearly, by making an explicit commitment to all knowledge being provisional (as opposed to unquestionable), this is the most open-minded stance any knowledge system can take.
http://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=Seven_fallacies_of_thought_and_reason.phphttp://www.skeptics.org.uk/article.php?dir=articles&article=the_open_mind.php
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