Hi everyone.
Two days ago I had a conversation with my cousin and among other things, he said something which I found quite interesting. He said: “maybe after becoming Homo Sapiens, we developed a disease called thinking”.
I really found this statement very thought-provoking.
Throughout history, many philosophers have touched upon the fact that consciousness is a disease and our brains have evolved beyond our basic needs. We have become too smart, and it has caused a lot of problems.
Let’s be honest, we are animals too, yet unlike other animals we have gained consciousness. We can think about past and future events and we have invented language in order to communicate our thoughts. This ability has many advantages, but many disadvantages as well. Unlike other animals, we humans cannot live solely in the present moment, we regret our past and fear death. That’s why there are countless elaborate philosophical and religious systems in order to answer all the questions caused by our consciousness. Animals don’t philosophise or make up religions, it’s totally a human-made phenomenon. We are in fact cursed by consciousness.
But why I’'m writing about this? You know, I have read and explored some philosophies and religions, but gradually I have come to the conclusion that though useful and brilliant these philosophies are, at the end of the day they are created by human beings and there is no certain proof that everything they have said is the truth. As Marcus Aurelius once wrote:
Realities are wrapped in such a veil as it were that several philosophers of distinction have thought them altogether beyond comprehension, while even the Stoics think them hard to comprehend.
> The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, chapter 5
I finally came to appreciate Skepticism and Agnosticism. I still enjoy reading and exploring philosophies, but I constantly remind myself that they may not hold the ultimate truth, that the ultimate truth is perhaps out of our reach.
I admit that this conclusion can be disturbing, that’s why I call it a curse. We humans are cursed to seek the truth and the answers to all the questions which have plagued humanity for centuries, while at the same time knowing that we may not find them after all.
But here is the good news: skepticism can also set us free. If you look at history you will notice that a lot of wars and miseries of humankind are actually the result of clinging to ideas and ideologies, in other words clinging to Dogmatism. Dogmatism is one of the worst things about us and the cure for it is skepticism and tolerance towards other people’s beliefs. We all need a little bit of skepticism, the ability to doubt one’s own beliefs and to respect other opinions, realizing that maybe others are at least partly right and we can talk to each other and learn from one another.
When Socrates famously said that I know that I don’t know, he probably meant that we know very little and we are better off accepting this fact. Maybe Pyrrhonists were right when they invited us to use words such as perhaps, maybe, probably etc more often than usual. They were cautious not to fall into the trap of dogmatic thoughts.
The skeptic philosopher David Hume (1711 - 1776) in the final chapter of his famous work “Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” writes the
following:
Most people are naturally apt to be positive and dogmatic in their opinions; they see only one side of an issue, have no idea of any arguments going the other way, and recklessly commit themselves to the principles that seem to them right, with no tolerance for those who hold opposing views. Pausing to reflect, or balancing arguments pro and con, only serves to get them muddled, to damp down their emotions, and to delay their actions.
They are very uncomfortable in this state, and are thus impatient to escape from it; and they think they can keep away from it—the further the better—by the violence of their assertions and the obstinacy of their beliefs. But if these dogmatic reasoners became aware of how frail the human understanding is, even at its best and most cautious, this awareness would naturally lead to their being less dogmatic and outspoken, less sure of themselves and less prejudiced against antagonists.
As you see, he praises skepticism and considers it a very good antidote towards fanaticism and dogmatic beliefs.
Of course I don’t mean to say that we should be skeptic about everything in life. This radical approach is neither possible nor healthy. What I mean is a healthy dose of skepticism or moderate skepticism, as David Hume (mentioned above) calls it.
If in this essay I have been able to show the benefits of being open-minded and avoiding dogmatic thinking, I will feel very glad that I have succeeded in my purpose of writing this essay.
So let us practice a little skepticism, because it can solve a lot of our problems, especially those related to intolerance and dogmatism. For as dear خیام puts it very well:
اسرار اَزَل را نه تو دانی و نه من
وین حرفِ معمّا نه تو خوانی و نه من
هست از پس پرده گفتوگوی من و تو
چون پرده برافتد، نه تو مانی و نه من.
There was the Door to which I found no Key
There was the Veil through which I might not see
Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee
There was–and then no more of Thee and Me
