Why do we have skeptic organizations? Let’s look at the evidence.
As a philosopher, I ask a lot of “why” questions, such as the notorious one often associated with philosophers: Why are we here? No, seriously. Why are we here? Why are we here? Why do self-described skeptics get together and exchange ideas, listen to speakers, plan skeptic-related activities, and so forth? In other words: Why skepticism?
That question may be a little broad to start, so for now, let me make it more concrete: Why skeptic organizations? It’s one thing for people with similar interests to get together on occasion— that’s inevitable—but why do we have formal skeptic organizations? What do they accomplish? There are a number of skeptic organizations throughout the world. In the United States, there are several regional and local organizations and a couple of national organizations such as the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). What purpose do they serve? Well, in the case of the CFI/CSI, one thing they do is publish SKEPTICAL INQUIRER magazine. It’s a very good, informative magazine, but of course a cynic might ask: Isn’t the magazine just another example of skeptics talking to other skeptics? Is SKEPTICAL INQUIRER anything more than a forum for conversation among skeptics and a useful way to raise money for the organization so the organization can pay people to publish the magazine, which raises money for the organization to pay people to publish the magazine . . . and so on?