To Be Sceptic is to Be

Scepticism is the first step towards development of consciousness. The conscious mind is aware of one’s existence and its reason. Nietzschean Zarathustra in “Thus Spake Zarathustra” said; “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” Yet the struggle to find out the meaning of the correct way is only possible by profound thoughts of a mind. While to ingrain a profound mind in one’s self, scepticism is the master key.

Humans are born in this world with a mind which has the ability to ponder upon and develop consciousness. Disagreeing with the perspective of ‘development of consciousness purely on material basis’, humans are born with an intellect which is superior to others. To improve this intellect and to further the development of consciousness, scepticism should be the trait of the mind. Beingness or ‘to exist’ is a question on which all the great minds have thought upon and  no great mind is ever born or evolved without being critical and sceptic. Scepticism enables the mind to let the thought process embrace freedom. The free mind is the only mind which can not be enslaved by material or abstract constraints. As Bertrand Russell said;

“We must be sceptical even of our own scepticism.”

The initiation of a sceptic mind is dependent upon the functionality of thought processes of a person. If the thought process of a seeker is based on dwelling into an idea of any kind, in order to achieve a deeper connotation and meaning, there is a high probability for him to broaden the horizons of his knowledge and its utilization. However, on the other hand, scepticism for the sake of scepticism is merely death to the inherence of gained knowledge. More a person gains knowledge, the more they lose their essence to the cunningness of their distorted scepticism.

For a start, based on historical and biblical accounts, all the prophets were philosophically sceptical in nature except those who were not born as prophets. Otherwise, the concept of forbidden fruit would not have come forth. It opens another debate about the consequences and ramifications of being sceptic. However, it all goes back to the initial point of intention of ‘being sceptic’. It can be well summarized in a quote that is usually affiliated with Buddha; “What you think, you become.” while the actual and well researched text in Dvedhavitakk Sutta, states that, “Whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon, that will become the inclination of his mind.” Regardless of divided perspectives on authenticity, both point towards a similar gist, i.e., objective.

From a religious angle, being a theist, I commend sceptic people. Being sceptic is better than to have blind belief in a belief system. It shows their on-going research on a certain issue and their quest for knowledge. However, there lies a strong tendency in these sceptics to align towards sowing discords in the belief system. Thus, they create an environment of brawl among believers and non believers which leads to a deadend. Therefore, the wrong foundation or objective of being sceptic beats the very purpose of being sceptic.

In general, the dilemma of positive and negative outcomes and inability to keep the balance in scepticism has led many great minds to fall down. Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the key figures of philosophy of existentialism, lost his mental capabilities at the end. Ted Kaczynski, a mathematical prodigy, turned a terrorist in later years of his life. Ernest Hemingway, American novelist and Nobel prize winner, spent his last years in insanity. Bobby Fischer, chess grandmaster, who played move of the century against Boris Spassky in 1972 went mad after a few years. Nikola Tesla is another name which can be added to this list and the list goes on. In order to avoid such a scenario, there must exist a balance in scepticism. There must be self awareness in a mind about its thought processes and practicality. Based on Yin -Yang theory, life exists in two folds: Light and Dark, and both exist to complete the whole existence of life. Thus, the negatives of scepticism must be balanced out by its positives.

Yet the query still remains; “Is scepticism good enough to exist in a mind?” or “Is there any need to be sceptic as life goes by any way and at the end usually the blind dogmas prevail?” or “Is being sceptical worth it?”

These are a few questions which I will leave for your minds as everyone has their own thought process and ways of transition and transformation. The task is yours to solve that.

“To be sceptic... is to be... or not to be?”