I love this mantra of the ancient skeptics: for every argument, the mind can offer a counterargument. Moreover, the pose of a skeptic is easy to combine with aesthetic pleasure. The fact that truth cannot be found does not in any way prevent us from observing its manifestations….
In the face of a stunning landscape, we can ask ourselves if it points to the existence of a creator God. But we do not have the slightest need for an answer in order to continue to enjoy the bright light in the cloudy sky.
My love of skepticism is enhanced by the depressing sight of all these dull gentlemen, attached to their beliefs, like jealous husbands, who turn aggressive into aggression from a sense of panic.. It covers them as soon as a belief looms on the horizon that they do not share. Doesn’t this aggression indicate the presence of unpleasant doubts that the subject does not want to think about? Otherwise, why scream like that? Conversely, to love a thought probably means at the same time to understand that it can be doubted.
Recognize the validity of doubts and in the very heart of this recognition continue to «believe», keep yourself in conviction, but in such a conviction that there is nothing painful in it; in a faith that recognizes itself as faith and ceases to mix with knowledge.
Believing in freedom of speech does not stop you from wondering if everything can be expressed
To believe in God means in this case to believe in God and at the same time to doubt him, and neither Sister Emmanuelle1, nor Abbé Pierre2 could not refute it. To believe in such an insane hypothesis as God, without feeling a shred of doubt: how can you see anything other than madness in this? Believing in republican rule does not mean being blind to the limitations of this model. Believing in freedom of speech does not prevent us from wondering if everything can be expressed. Believing in yourself does not mean putting aside doubts about the nature of this «self». Questioning our beliefs: what if this is the greatest service we can do them? At least, this is the kind of insurance that will not let you slide into ideology.
How to defend the republican model in an era when conservatism of all stripes flourishes? Not just pitting your Republican beliefs against a conservative (that would mean becoming too much like him), but adding another distinction to this direct opposition: not just «I’m a Republican and you’re not», but «I doubt who I am, and you are No».
I know you think that doubt weakens me. Sometimes I even fear that you are right. But I don’t believe in it. My doubts do not diminish my conviction: they enrich it and make it more human. They turn a rigid ideology into an ideal that defines behavior. Doubts did not prevent Sister Emmanuelle from fighting for the poor, and fighting in the name of God. Let us also not forget that Socrates was an outstanding fighter; but he doubted everything and knew for sure only one thing — that he knew nothing.
1 Sister Emmanuelle, in the world Madeleine Senken (Madeleine Cinquin, 1908–2008) is a Belgian nun, teacher and writer. For the French — a symbol of the struggle to improve the situation of the disadvantaged.
2 Abbé Pierre, in the world Henri Antoine Grouès (1912–2007) is a famous French Catholic priest who founded the international charitable organization Emmaus.