If one word could accurately be used to sum up the attitude and thinking patterns
of our increasingly postmodernist society, it would be 'skepticism'.
The dictionary defines skepticism as:
1.) An attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object.
2.) The doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain.
3.) Doubt concerning basic religious principles.
It's clearly natural for us as human beings to be skeptical about certain things.
If someone offers me a stake in a proposal that requires high initial investment and promises
outrageous returns with no up-front evidence, I would be considered naive to not be suspicious.
Suspicion of other human beings, for instance, is on the surface an ordinary sentiment.
This is because, as we grow older, our cumulative experience teaches us that people
have a tendency to be deceptive and our relationships with them damaging to ourselves.
Indeed, human beings have a propensity to lie to us, let us down, break promises, cheat us,
steal from us, and absolve former relations in emotionally turbulent ways.
This does nothing to diminish the fact that human beings can be wonderfully receptive as well,
full of kindness, mercy, compassion, and displaying a refined sense of justice.
There are two sides of the same coin.
Skeptics demand evidence. Our society today is populated by skeptics.
This skepticism can take a variety of forms, such as in some of the things said by the rather aggressive 'new atheists'. Skepticism can be emotional skepticism as well. It is not exclusively intellectual.
In a debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins, I was struck by the repeated observation
of Peter Atkins that belief in God is laziness.
According to Peter Atkins, belief in God condones scientific laziness, making a scientist
who believes in a supreme Being stop short of pushing the envelope in search of
scientific truth. But is this really the case?
As I mulled over some philosophical topics and personal experiences last night, I began to develop
the opinion that the opposite is, in fact, true. I believe that it is intellectual and emotional skepticism
that promotes laziness, complacency, and apathy.
Ask yourself the following question.
Is it easier to destroy something, or to create something?
The answer should be obvious.
It's almost always easier to demolish something, when sometimes
it can take days or even months to build the same thing.
The next question is this: Is it easier to shoot someone else down with disbelief, or to develop
a refined opinion of your own and rebut their arguments with acuity, precision, and incisiveness.
Obviously, once again, the former is easier.
Once you have experienced the emotional turmoil of the end of a romantic relationship,
does it become harder to enter a new commitment? Of course it does.
But we must overcome our excess of emotional skepticism in order to experience the joys
of love once again. Otherwise we become cold and apathetic; isolated and withdrawn from
the possibility of future social engagements.
I know. I've done it myself, probably to an extreme that most others have not.
But I believe that this example is one we can all identify with.
It is accepting the easy way out to take the stance of emotional skepticism; refusing to
believe there is someone who will not hurt us if we open ourselves up and allow them
into our inner circle of trust.
Similarly it is accepting the easy way out if we refuse to accept cumulative evidence when
it is staring us in the face. When we aggressively dismiss ideas when they are presented
merely because they disagree with our worldview. In these cases, skepticism
becomes a defense mechanism that does little or nothing to help us get at the truth.
So what am I saying? Is all skepticism bad?
Absolutely not. Some skepticism is necessary for us to live our lives from day to day.
Indeed, skepticism, when used appropriately, can be one of a host of intellectual tools
that we use to apprehend the truth of reality.
But there's a very fine line between skepticism and narrow-mindedness.
And if we are not careful, we will fall into a bad habit of utter refusal and denial.
My message is this warning:
beware of using intellectual or emotional skepticism as a defense mechanism and an easy out.
Don't be lulled into a life of apathy because you believe you are somehow smarter or wiser
than peers who have put their beliefs, opinions, and feelings on the chopping block.
There is no reward without risk.
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