“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.”
Sir Francis Bacon
The 16th-century English philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon, surely referred to constructive intellectual doubt when he said this. Let us today rethink the constructive process of doubt (and questioning) as an intellectual activity.
When I refer to doubt, I am referring to that activity introduced under healthy academic conditions that strengthen the mind. A doubt such as this is not pessimism, but healthy scepticism. I believe that one of the most important exercises of living an informed life is to doubt whatever is presented to you during the course of your living years. Why do you need to do this? Well, the answer is very simple You need to establish the truth and set it apart from the lies.
René Descartes (a French Philosopher) said that if you want to be a real seeker of the truth, then it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. Descartes is actually most known for his all-encompassing doubt he underwent in his attempt to establish the truth. Now, think about your own life. How many things do you believe that has not been subjected to a healthy dosage of doubt? From birth, you are being told many things, and you believe these things without verifying its truthfulness. Why? If you embrace falsehoods, then surely you are not living an authentic life! Be wise and practice healthy doubt.
As Shakespeare wrote in his tragedy “Troilus and Cressida” (circa, 1602):
Modest doubt is call’d
The beacon of the wise.
I am convinced that people don’t question and doubt as readily as they ought to. If you question more, you will not merely be an automaton who only act on information received but you will be one who questions it. I will echo, as a final thought, the words from Frantz Fanon’s book “Black Skin, White Masks” (1952). As a psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer from the French colony of Martinique, he writes:
OH, MY BODY, MAKE OF ME ALWAYS A MAN WHO QUESTIONS!
In doubt lies the revelation of truth and fact,
and to doubt is, in fact, a very simple act…
so if you want to pursue life’s certainties,
then simply question and doubt life’s anomalies.
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