Doubt generally conjures up negative connotations. We link
it with mistrust and feel offended if the doubt is directed at us. In the arena
of faith, doubt is often seen as its direct opposite, yet many who express deep
faith profess to have doubts and find comfort and even impetus through them.
‘Doubt isn’t the opposite
of faith; it is an element of faith.’ (Paul Tillich)
‘If you would be a real
seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt,
as far as possible, all things.’ (Rene Descartes)
Descartes, who is probably more famous for his ‘I think,
therefore I am’ quotation than the one cited above was the Father of Cartesian
philosophy – the idea that all existence should be questioned in order to be understood.
Whilst we could get caught up in a mind bending exercise to argue that this is
not some dream existence (although perhaps after Trump’s inauguration
yesterday, some people wish it was), I am happy for now (especially as I write)
to assume both your existence and my own.
Asserting doubts is the beginning of self-autonomy. As
toddlers our common refrain would have been ‘why?’ I remember the common
response being ‘because I said so!’ This response is the reassertion of
dominance. For some level the toddler is questioning the knowledge and
authority of the parent. Whilst dealing with this can be frustrating it is a
necessary path to curiosity and independent thought.
In a world of post-truth perhaps doubt and questioning are
our greatest allies. The educational system in this country is being blamed for
not nurturing critical thinkers and independent learners but surely this is
something we could all do with developing further. Tweets and posts have become
‘gospel truth’ that we either choose to believe or ignore. Perhaps we need to
give less credit and time to gossip columnists and social commentators and
instead give more attention to those who are prepared to question the status
quo.
During this last week I went to see Martin Scorsese’s
‘Silence’. I was really impressed by Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of a Jesuit
priest. I then discovered that in preparation for the film he completed the
Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. In a recent interview he was asked about faith
and whether he had doubts about God and the after-life.
‘…And I think a life of
faith is not a life of certainty. A life of faith is a life of –
of doubt. And I think it is so healthy to doubt. It’s so
health to doubt oneself, it’s so healthy to doubt any assumption we make about
how to live. And I think – what I say when – what I mean when I say
certainty scares me, certainty starts war. Certainty starts war on
behalf of ideology. Certainty of the ‘I – I know and
you don't.’ That's the scariest thing to me and what – what a human
being is capable of doing.’
This is the kind of doubt I think we could all do with
considering. Doubt that questions my assumptions. Doubt that allows for your
view as much as mine.
What do you think?
What are the benefits of doubts?
Would critical thinking benefit teenagers, our society?
