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Robert Todd Carroll (born 1945), Ph.D.
Ph.D.

Ph.D. or PHD may stand for:* Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group* Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip...
, is an American writer and academic. Carroll has written several books and skeptical essays, but achieved notability by publishing the Skeptic's Dictionary
Skeptic's Dictionary

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a collection of cross-referenced Scientific skepticism essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book....
 online in 1994.

arned his PhD in philosophy in 1974 at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego

The University of California, San Diego is a public research university in San Diego, California, California. The school's campus contains 694 buildings and is located in the La Jolla, San Diego, California community....
.

l his retirement in 2007, Carroll was a professor of philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 at Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College

Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had enrollment of 22,197 for the Spring 2008 semester....
.

A longtime advocate of atheism
Atheism

Atheism is the absence or rejection of belief in deity, or the explicit view that Existence of God.Many list of atheists are Skepticism of all supernatural beings and cite a lack of empiricism evidence for the existence of deities....
, scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism , sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a scientific or practical, epistemology position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence....
, and critical thinking
Critical thinking

Critical thinking is purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or do in response to observations, experience, Interpersonal communication or writing expressions, or arguments....
, in 1994 Carroll set up the Skeptic's Dictionary
Skeptic's Dictionary

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a collection of cross-referenced Scientific skepticism essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book....
 website online.






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Robert Todd Carroll (born 1945), Ph.D.
Ph.D.

Ph.D. or PHD may stand for:* Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group* Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip...
, is an American writer and academic. Carroll has written several books and skeptical essays, but achieved notability by publishing the Skeptic's Dictionary
Skeptic's Dictionary

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a collection of cross-referenced Scientific skepticism essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book....
 online in 1994.

Early life and education

He earned his PhD in philosophy in 1974 at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego

The University of California, San Diego is a public research university in San Diego, California, California. The school's campus contains 694 buildings and is located in the La Jolla, San Diego, California community....
.

Career

Until his retirement in 2007, Carroll was a professor of philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 at Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College

Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had enrollment of 22,197 for the Spring 2008 semester....
.

A longtime advocate of atheism
Atheism

Atheism is the absence or rejection of belief in deity, or the explicit view that Existence of God.Many list of atheists are Skepticism of all supernatural beings and cite a lack of empiricism evidence for the existence of deities....
, scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism , sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a scientific or practical, epistemology position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence....
, and critical thinking
Critical thinking

Critical thinking is purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or do in response to observations, experience, Interpersonal communication or writing expressions, or arguments....
, in 1994 Carroll set up the Skeptic's Dictionary
Skeptic's Dictionary

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a collection of cross-referenced Scientific skepticism essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book....
 website online. It initially consisted of fewer than fifty articles, mostly on logical fallacies and pseudoscience
Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience is any knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific, or that is made to appear to be scientific, but which does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status....
. The site has now grown to several hundred articles, including many on the paranormal and the supernatural
Supernatural

The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are Spell and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others....
. It attracts more than a million visitors per month. Entries from the dictionary have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Carroll's views have attracted numerous interviews for him from mainstream media and local newspapers, such as the Davis Enterprise. In addition, he has been intereviewed by representatives of such skeptical groups as the New England Skeptical Society
New England Skeptical Society

The New England Skeptical Society is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting science and reason. It was originally founded in 1996 as the Connecticut Skeptical Society....
 and Media Man Australia.

Publications

  • Becoming a Critical Thinker — A Guide for the New Millennium, 2nd ed., ISBN 0-536-85934-5.
  • The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2003, ISBN 0-471-27242-6.
  • The Common-sense Philosophy of Religion of Bishop Edward Stillingfleet
    Edward Stillingfleet

    Edward Stillingfleet was a British theology and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of holiness" for his good looks in the pulpit, and was called by John Hough "the ablest man of his time"....
     1635-1699    , ISBN 90-247-1647-0. (1974 doctoral dissertation, under the direction of Richard Popkin
    Richard Popkin

    Richard H. Popkin was one of the most influential historians of philosophy of the second half of the twentieth century.His 1960 work The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes introduced many historians to a previously unrecognised influence on Western thought in the seventeenth century, the Pyrrhonian Scepticism of Sextus Emp...
    , University of California at San Diego).


See also

  • List of University of California, San Diego people
    List of University of California, San Diego people

    The list of University of California, San Diego people includes notable graduates, professors and administrators affiliated with University of California, San Diego in the United States....


External links

  • , May 2, 2002 to present
  • at Sacramento City College
    Sacramento City College

    Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had enrollment of 22,197 for the Spring 2008 semester....


Articles and essays

  • James Randi Educational Foundation
    James Randi Educational Foundation

    The James Randi Educational Foundation is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magic and Scientific skepticism James Randi....
     newsletter written by Carroll, March 17, 2006
  • by Carroll, Skeptical Inquirer
    Skeptical Inquirer

    The Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly, United States magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry with the subtitle: The magazine for science and reason....
    , July 2004
  • by Carroll for Inquiring Minds, a CSICOP website
  • by Carroll on Gary Schwartz
    Gary Schwartz

    Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D., is a professor of Psychology who teaches courses in psychology in the departments of Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Surgery at the University of Arizona....
    , at Freethinker, mukto-mona.com, a Bengali
    Bengali language

    Bengali or Bangla is an Indo-European languages language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages....
     humanist
    Humanist

    Humanist may refer to:* a proponent of the group of ethical stances referred to as Humanism* a figure in the European intellectual movement known as Renaissance Humanism...
     website
  • by Roy Herbert, New Scientist
    New Scientist

    New Scientist is a liberal weekly international science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English language-speaking audience....
     Print Edition, Nov. 22, 2003
  • by Gary Jason, Liberty
    Liberty (1987)

    Liberty is a leading libertarian journal founded in 1987 by R. W. Bradford in Port Townsend, Washington, and currently edited from San Diego, California, by Stephen D....
    , Oct. 2005
  • , Bay Area Skeptics


Interviews

  • , New England Skeptical Society
    New England Skeptical Society

    The New England Skeptical Society is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting science and reason. It was originally founded in 1996 as the Connecticut Skeptical Society....
     Oct. 1, 2002
  • , Media Man Australia, Apr. 24, 2003
  • by Skepticality
    Skepticality

    Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores Rationality, Skepticism ideas, and famous Mythology from around the world and throughout history....
    , official podcast of The Skeptics Society
    The Skeptics Society

    The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrationality beliefs....
    's Skeptic magazine, Aug. 23, 2005
  • by Skepticality, Feb. 3, 2006; The Amaz!ng Meeting 4