The Skeptical Inquirer
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| Editor-in-chief | Kendrick Frazier |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Bi-monthly |
| Circulation | 24,672 |
| Publisher | |
| Year founded | 1976 |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Amherst, New York |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0194-6730 |
Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: The Magazine for Science and Reason. In 2016 it celebrated its fortieth anniversary. For most of its existence, the Skeptical Inquirer (SI) was published by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, widely known by its acronym CSICOP. In 2006 the CSICOP Executive Council shortened CSICOP’s name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and broadened its mission statement.
The formal mission statement, approved in 2006 and still current, states that...
"The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry promotes science and scientific inquiry, critical thinking, science education, and the use of reason in examining important issues. It encourages the critical investigation of controversial or extraordinary claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminates factual information about the results of such inquiries to the scientific community, the media, and the public."
A shorter version of the mission statement appears in every issue: “... promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims.” A previous mission statement referred to “investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims,” but the 2006 change recognized and ratified a wider purview for SI that includes new science-related issues at the intersection of science and the public while not ignoring core topics. A history of the first two decades is available in The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal published in 1998 by S.I. editor Kendrick Frazier.
The magazine was originally titled The Zetetic (from the Greek meaning skeptical seeker or inquiring skeptic) and was originally edited by Marcello Truzzi. The first issue was dated Fall/Winter 1976. Soon after its inception a schism developed between the editor Truzzi and the rest of CSICOP. One side was more "firmly opposed to nonsense, more willing to go on the offensive and to attack supernatural claims" and the other side wanted science and pseudoscience to exist "happily together". Truzzi left to start The Zetetic Scholar and CSICOP changed the magazine's name to Skeptical Inquirer. In 1977 Kendrick Frazier was appointed editor. He had previously been editor of Science News for six years.
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