From the sceptical point of view, the understanding that there are no definite and fixed boundaries to things, and that everything is subject to change, leads to the understanding that we can never be certain about anything, and that we can never be sure that our ideas, beliefs, perceptions and intuitions are true or justifiable, let alone absolute, permanent or universal. Indeed, we have to recognise that all ideas, beliefs and facts (or units of knowledge), are provisional and partial. For this reason, it is sensible to suspend judgement, to always keep in mind that any assertion or argument is open to a legitimate counter-assertion or argument, and that any so-called truth is open to revision. The sceptical term for suspension of judgement is epoché. It seems to me that ‘suspending judgement’ has close parallels with the Zen notion of ‘stepping back’, and suspending commentary, beliefs and opinions, and reactive habits when doing zazen.
The American art critic and theorist, Thomas McEvilley, wrote a rather wonderful book about ancient Greek and Indian philosophy, titled: The Shape of Ancient Thought – first published in 2002 and based on thirty years research. In his book, McEvilley, describes the philosophy of scepticism as advocated by Pyrrho of Elis – who lived from around 360 – 270 BCE – and Sextus Empiricus who lived in the mid to late 2nd Century CE. McEvilley suggests that epoché, suspending judgment, was the first part of a process, advocated by the ancient Greek sceptics, that could help develop peace of mind. (see McEvilley 2002: 420)
My interpretation of this process goes like this: when we suspend judgment, we are also suspending any belief that the world can be divided according to linguistic categories, labels or statements – we can only glimpse in silence the primary unity and interconnectedness of everything. This is a state known by the sceptics as aphasia. This silence and freedom from categorising and labelling gives rise to a state of balance, neutrality or what some Buddhist’s would call, equanimity. That is, we have a clear, balanced view of how things are, setting aside our own preferences and preconceptions – what sceptics refer to as arrepsia. This clear, balanced view gives rise to a feeling of tranquillity, freedom from worry or peace of mind – that is, ataraxia. And freedom from worry is a significant contributing factor to anyone’s mental wellbeing. The cultivation of imperturbability, peace of mind and wellbeing are key intentions of sceptics such as Pyrrho – as they are of Gotama Buddha.
Given that knowledge is always uncertain and relative, the sceptic considers their philosophy of life, as a process of open-ended enquiry, endless investigation – realising that there is always more to be found out – a life of questioning, positive doubt and imaginative re-interpretation. There are no final or absolute truths to be found, instead just be curious, enjoy the enquiry for its own sake. This could also be seen as epitomising the artistic and scientific life. The purpose of scepticism is not philosophical enquiry but living enquiry (like Buddhism) – cultivating a path of peace, tolerance and fulfilment – what in Buddhism is known as sukha. As Sextus Empiricus, points out, there are dogmatic philosophers, who think they have found the truth; negative dogmatists, who believe that the truth cannot be found; and the sceptics, who are not committed either way – they are still investigating, walking a ‘middle way’ – like Buddhists.
The scepticism of Pyrrho involves a profound critique of dogmatism. Sceptics set out to demonstrate that all opinions are open to contention and counter-argument – and are therefore conditional and relative, unworthy of being given the status of certain or absolute truth – which is what dogmatists claim. This leads a Sceptic to acknowledge that all viewpoints, ideas and beliefs are worthy of respect or passing interest, yet it is best not to become attached to any one in particular – a balanced and tolerant position, rather than a position of taking sides, intolerance and imbalance.
This approach to ideas of truth as being relational and provisional, does not mean that a sceptic like Pyrrho, or Gotama Buddha, thinks that there are no truths, or that establishing a fact is not important. It is rather that they consider what we think of as ‘facts’ should always be open to revision in the light of changing evidence, enquiry and agreement. Likewise, the statement that ‘this is true’ or ‘this is the truth’ should always be considered in the context of who is saying it, when they are saying it, why and where – because truth claims always need to be seen in relation to the status, power, intention and knowledgebase of the claimant. The claim that ‘the earth is flat is a true statement’ made by a person in the 10th century, will probably be evaluated in a very different way to the same claim being made in the 21st century. Individual and collective understanding evolves over time as we investigate and learn – and this process determines what might be considered to be true or factual.
Pyrrhonists, such as Sextus, and many Zen Buddhists, share a suspicion that linguistic ideas and theories, often in the form of preconceptions and habits of thought, tend to cloud our perceptions – obscuring rather than revealing the actuality of what appears to us from moment to moment (what Zen Buddhists refer to as ‘suchness’). Puncturing this veil of words, theories and abstractions is one of the tasks of the sceptic and Zen teacher. Observing and accepting appearances, without clinging to them or believing them to be fixed or absolute, would seem to the sceptic and Zen practitioner, to be a reasonable approach to good living.
From a sceptical point of view, human history can be seen as being littered with conflicts fought in the name of dogmatic truths, or false certainties, of every persuasion. If we are to be free of error and to be free ‘of the domination of linguistic categories,’ we have to be open to the indeterminacy of things, the awareness that all things are without essence or self-existence and are always subject to changing conditions.
Remember: Everything changes – nothing is certain. There is no end to sceptical enquiry – no end to awakening. So, be curious and open-minded, and pay attention – but evaluate all opinions and beliefs, including your own, with care, compassion and scepticism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Danvers, John. 2012. Agents of uncertainty: mysticism, scepticism, Buddhism, art & poetry. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Empiricus, Sextus. 1990. Outlines of Pyrrhonism. New York: Prometheus Books.
McEvilley, Thomas. 2002. The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. New York: Allworth Press/School of Visual Arts.