A History of Doubt

SUMMARY

In "A History of Doubt", Jennifer Michael Hecht explains how doubt began and how it developed throughout history. She says that the first record of doubt traces back to Socrates, who was an example of skepticism because he admitted that he knew nothing. Skeptics who branched from Socrates were confused about which religion to choose. Many skeptics realized that the religions were all brilliant and that it was impossible to choose which one was the source of truth. This confusion led some skeptics to conclude that none of the religions were correct. Epicurus and epicureans believed that fear was pointless. They said that fear of pain was useless because the fear was worse than the pain. They said that the fear of God was useless because there is no God. They also said that fear of death was useless because death will happen and there is no way to stop it. Then there is Zen Buddhism, which carries the belief that doubt is the closest a person can come to the truth.

Doubt can be seen in the Bible too, especially in the story of Job. Job loses everything he has even though he has been a good person and followed God's commandments. He doesn't understand how God could justify what happened, so Job begins to doubt God. Also in the Bible, Jesus' last words are "My God, why have you forsaken me?" Even the founder of Christianity is doubting God, which means that Christians should be encouraged to be skeptical. Christianity originally embraced doubt but then violently opposed it. Jennifer Michael Hecht says that there is little recognition of the history of doubt because there is no pride in doubt. During the Cold War America fought against communism, which held the characteristic of doubt.


ANALYSIS

This radio program fits very well with the Reading Book and our theology class. Hecht mentions Socrates' ability to realize that he doesn't know everything, which ties into the story of the Oracle telling Socrates that he is the wisest man on Earth because he admits that he doesn't know everything. Hecht's ideas on defining the terms "atheist" and "agnostic" and the idea of "doubt without conviction" fits well with the class also. We have been taught to be skeptical of everything, but to choose certain things to put our faith into. Since we cannot be sure about anything, we should admit that we could be wrong in where we place our faith. Another point in the radio program is that Christianity encouraged doubt originally but later opposed it. This is seen perfectly in the "unreflective unity" and "reflective disunity" sections of our Reading Book.