Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson

The history of doubt is as long as the history of thought itself, beginning with the birth of philosophy. As long as human beings have questioned their surroundings they have had doubt in their minds. One of the first was Socrates. He believed that “there is truth to be found, but that human beings may best approach it through doubt rather than conviction.” The ‘socratic method’ is the search for truth via the process of questioning. Questioning something means that you are skeptical of it, or that you doubt some element of it, and this questioning (hopefully) leads to understanding and wisdom.Along for the historical ride with philosophical doubt is also religious doubt, the two eternally and conceptually intertwined. People have always questioned the existence of a god or gods and have done so in fantastically myriad ways over the millennia. Xenophanes (born 570 BC) was one of the earliest Skeptics, writing that if cattle and horses and lions could paint, “they would depict the gods in their own image.” He noted that Ethiopians described the gods as black and flat-nosed, while the Thracians described them with blue eyes and red hair. Who is correct? Is anybody?All of the great religions are wracked with doubt in their own ways. With Christianity, managing one’s doubt, that is, husbanding one’s faith, is the central drama. The story of Job is a story of doubt. In the Gospels of both Mark and Matthew, Jesus’ last words were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Even Jesus doubted.Jewish and Islamic doubt have also existed throughout the history of mankind. Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) is one of Islam’s greatest philosophers and considered a great religious thinker by many Muslims. He noted that “Christian youths always grew up to be Christians, Jewish youths to be Jews and Muslim youths to be Muslims.” So what is belief? (For a taste of Jewish doubt, answer me this: How could Moses could have written the book of Dueteronomy when it tells of his own death?)In eastern cultures, Buddhism has been around since Guatama Buddha walked the earth somewhere around the 5th century BC. Buddhism is the search for Enlightenment and the attainment of Nirvana via the transcendence of the self. Doubt in the existence of the self is central. In fact, it is this belief in the self that Buddhism believes leads to suffering. The answer is to let go of all certainty. Buddhist thought has disseminated into a variety of other ideologies, a popular one being Zen, which focuses on self-restraint, meditation, and understanding the nature of the mind. In Zen they have a saying: “Great doubt: great awakening. Little doubt: little awakening. No doubt: no awakening.”I could go on with more examples of doubt, from east to west, ancient to modern, slightly skeptical to full-blown atheist, but that would be redundant. As long as there have been believers, there have been doubters. What is interesting, however, is that while believers held the power in their societies for most of human history, only recently have the tables turned and doubters come to the forefront. It is no coincidence that here in the United States, the greatest democratic country our modern world has ever seen, we have a separation of church and state. Any person can practice whichever religion they desire, but matters of social governing are done in a secular manner, the goal of which is the prosperity of everyone. This change in history, now seeing doubters and atheists in power, has come about due to scientific discoveries and technological advances. Once upon a time people thought the gods were responsible for rain. Now we know that rain is a part of nature’s natural cycles, and we don’t need a god to help us understand it. Science and technology have brought the United States virtual reality and electric cars, while other countries (still dominated by religious certainty) still fail to educate their women and treat them equally.Cicero (born 106 BC) wrote “by doubting we come at truth.” Freud (born 1856 AD) wrote that “the healthy psyche needs doubt, indeed should embrace disbelief as a part of maturity.” From the earliest thinkers to the most recent, doubt has always been a recurring theme, and while humanity has undoubtedly come a long way, we still face the persecution of certainty. This is because certainty is comfortable, and people desire comfort. Doubt is intrinsically unstable and chaotic, feelings we naturally want to assuage.In conclusion, if you harbor doubts about your life, you are not alone. In fact, you are in good company, perhaps some of the greatest. Buddha, Socrates, Cicero, Epicurus, Aristotle, Jesus, Marcus Aurelius, Spinoza, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Locke, Hume, Hobbes, Sartre, Newton, Galileo, Jefferson, Franklin, Edison, Einstein, and Freud were all doubters. Personally, I believe that when feeling doubt one should also feel pride, for doubt is the seed of truth, and the search for truth is always good.

Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht"Doubt: A History" is about the history of religious doubt, from all over the world, and from all recorded history. This ambitious and comprehensive book takes us up close and personal with those who have grappled with the ultimate questions of life and found possible answers contrary to traditional faith. Jennifer Hecht provides freethinkers with a reference-quality book that captures the essence of doubt. This is an excellent and commendable book that I will cherish for years to come because it succeeds at providing a broad and insightful coverage of the history of doubt. This 576-page book is composed of the following ten chapters: 1. Whatever Happened to Zeus and Hera?, 600 BCE-1CE, Greek Doubt 2. Smacking the Temple, 600 BCE-1 CE, Doubt and the Ancient Jews3. What the Buddha Saw, 600 BCE-1 CE, Ancient Doubt in Asia, 4. When in Rome in Doubt, 50 BCE-200 CE, Empire of Reason 5. Christian Doubt, Zen, Elisha, and Hypatia, 1-800 CE, Late Classical Mix 6. Medieval Doubt Loops-the-Loop, 800-1400, Muslims to Jews to Christians 7. The Printing Press and the Age of Martyrs, 1400-1600, Renaissance and Inquisition 8. Sunspots and White House Doubters, 1600-1800, Revolutions in the Authority of Reason 9. Doubt's Bid for a Better World, 1800-1900, and Freethinking in the Age of Science and Reform 10. Principles of Uncertainty, 1900-.Positives:1. Fascinating topic in the master hands of an author who cared.2. As well-researched a book as you will find.3. Accessible prose.4. This is a very comprehensive and thorough book. The author meticulously covers a broad history of doubters and periods. Commendable effort for sure.5. Fair and even-handed. The author really treats the subject with utmost care and respect. I trust her assessment based on the overall treatment of this topic.6. A look at the worldview of many of the doubters within the context of the time in which they lived in.7. I like how the author explains how doubters were influenced by the works of their predecessors. Also, the particular contributions of each doubter. In some cases, some of the doubters borrow literary works and add their own particular flare.8. The impact of the Greeks to the history of the world even to this day is really remarkable. Aristotle just amazes me.9. The author does a great job of giving us the background of the most important terms, such as agnosticism, skepticism, etc...10. A fascinating look at Job and Ecclesiastes.11. The history of religious beliefs. The author masterfully provides the history of doubt within all the major religions including those from the Far East.12. The relation between women and religion.13. A look at some of the religious practices and what they represent.14. Wisdom from some of the greatest minds ever. Great stuff!15. The evolution of religious movements.16. The fascinating look at the afterlife, souls, infinity...17. An interesting look at "Atheistic" religions.18. Gods and Goddesses.19. So many great doubters...Epicurus seems to stand out.20. Great philosophy throughout book. You get the viewpoints from so many great minds.21. Jewish history is always fascinating.22. The impact of Paul to Christianity can never be underestimated.23. The terrible story of Hypatia.24. Martyrs of the cause...Bruno, Vanini25. The Copernican heliocentric system.26. The travels of the Jesuits.27. Galileo never gets old.28. So many perspectives of doubt..."Bayle upheld Montaigne's that religious claims are not confirmed by any inner knowledge, but instead were fed to us in our childhoods".29. Hume masterfully debunks popular arguments for gods.30. Franklin, Paine, Jefferson, and Adams highlight the founding doubters.31. The women of doubt: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, Anne Newport Royall, Harriet Taylor, Harriet Martineau, Frances Wright, Ernestine Rose, Susan B. Anthony...32. The funniest statement in the history of doubt, belongs to...33. The icon of biology, Darwin always makes his presence felt. His undeniable contribution to doubt. Darwinism.34. Great quotes, "If by any possibility the existence of a power superior to, and independent of, nature shall be demonstrated, there will be time enough to kneel. Until then let us stand erect." Robert Ingersoll.35. Doubt and the antislavery movement.36. Doubt in the twentieth century included doubting authority and custom.37. I really enjoyed the section on secular nations.38. I also loved the section on Americana doubters. Thomas Edison was truly "enlightening".39. The "Monkey Trial" enduring impact to doubt.40. An excellent chapter titled, "Conclusion" that does a wonderful job of summarizing the book.41. Links to notes worked great on Kindle version.42. Comprehensive bibliography.Negatives:1. Requires an investment of time. The book can be exhaustive at times but ultimately it rewards you with so much history.2. Because of my scientific/engineering background I'm always wanting for charts and this book is no different. I would have liked to have seen a timeline chart covering the most influential doubters.3. Repetitive at times.In summary, this is reference-quality book regarding the history of doubt. The author must be commended for such an achievement. This book covers so much and does it quite well. To use perhaps a weak baseball analogy, there are two well know ways for a baseball player to make the hall-of-fame: produce spectacular numbers in a few years like Sandy Koufax or accumulate consistent numbers over a productive long career ala Carl Yastrzemski. I feel this book is the latter, a consistent hit of information. I highly recommend it!Further recommendations: " Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism " by Susan Jacoby, " Man Made God: A Collection of Essays " by Barbara G. Walker, " A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present " by Howard Zinn, and " The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever " by Christopher Hitchens,

An entertaining history of ideas book.

History of doubt seen from the eyes of a philosopher-poet, an incredibly original book, written after a very thorough research and deep meditation. The book possesses the intellectual integrity and the objectivity of anglo-saxon historians.It appeals not only to atheists but also to believers, like myself.

If you have had 'doubt' about your religion, your faith or God in general and have felt that you are the only person who has experienced these thoughts, this is the book for you! For the past century we have had two camps that remain in total conflict; the religionists who fully believe in their version of holy scriptures and the materialists who feel that in order for reality to exist it must be scientifically measurable. You either belonged to one or the other, there was no room for doubt and agnosticism in between. One has to be chosen and their tenets committed to memory. This battle has been going on since the times of Socrates and Aristotle although the banners under which each side stood, over time, had a differing topic under which to stand. While the topics have changed, the conflict has remained the same.There has been no room for true 'doubt' of either side. This book not only explores those who doubted but, in many cases, the tremendous cost they paid for doing so. The author begins with the gods of the Greek Pantheon and progresses all the way to present day Islamic and Christian fundamentalism. On the opposite side of these religious arguments lie the early philosophical arguments and latter day scientific findings that refute the existence of anything beyond our senses. The author, while maybe not meaning to do it, shows her emotional connection to studies as the text proceeds.It is an enjoyable read that allows the reader to re-contact the doubts they have had on this journey called 'life'.

We have an almost violent desire to understand things... IG: @recetadora_de_libros

A brilliant and lucid skeptics' tour of human thought and history. Just what the doctor ordered for naïveté and credulity.