Most of my readers doubtless recognise the importance of being skeptical about the information, arguments, and ideas that we encounter, be it dietary advice, political opinions, science news articles, or whatever else. There are, however, different levels of scepticism, corresponding to the varying degrees of sophistication we can attain in the manner in which we respond to new ideas or arguments. In this piece I wish to outline a brief topology of these different levels of scepticism. I do not pretend to offer any sort of definitive classification, nor do I claim that these levels are in any way based upon empirical psychological research. Their purpose rather is to serve as a conceptual tool to help us think about the ways in which we can improve our own thinking, and work to eliminate residual biases and blind spots that hamper our efforts to form beliefs that are best justified by…
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