Philosophical Speculation no. 28: Doubt is not pleasant, but conviction is even more absurd

François Marie-Aruère, pen name Voltaire, was a famous French thinker, philosopher and writer. Voltaire was born into a wealthy middle-class family in Paris, France, the son of a notary of law and later a clerk in the Court of Auditors, and the daughter of an aristocratic family in the province of Poitou. He had a good education from an early age, and he was very studious. His first job was as secretary to the French ambassador to the Netherlands. He was imprisoned for writing poems satirizing the powerful. He later served as a court historian, a court literary attendant, and was elected a member of the Royal Society and a member of the Académie française. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 50 theatrical works, numerous philosophical novels and historical works. His representative works include "Philosophical Correspondence", "The Age of Louis XIV", and "The Honest Man".

Voltaire believed that every fact and theory in history has been corrected by man, that human beings are not born with ideas and concepts, that every idea and theory can be challenged, that doubt is not pleasant, but that conviction is even more absurd. I am opposed to Voltaire's views. Why? This is because Voltaire was wrong to believe that every fact and theory in history has been corrected. Some of the facts and theories of human history have been revised, but some have been recorded in accordance with the real situation. The reason for the revision is because it is possible for the monarch to revise history in order to glorify himself, or to glorify his own rule, or to discredit rivals and enemies. According to his own prejudices, historians praise and beautify those they admire, and demean and criticize those they don't like, which is also one of the reasons for correction. Some theorists improve, supplement, and modify on the basis of other people's theories, which is one of the reasons for the revision. In addition to the above reasons, it is impossible for those who record facts and theories in history to arbitrarily revise and tamper with them, let alone modify every fact and theory. If every fact and theory in history had been revised, then we humans would be in a world of lies, reduced to historical nihilism. In this sense, Voltaire replaces the whole with the part, with partial generalization, thus comprehensively denying the authenticity of history and human civilization, so his views are too biased, too extreme, and therefore wrong. Human beings are not born with ideas and concepts, but human beings record, record, and memorize ideas and concepts, and pass on the ideological achievements of human civilization and continue them from generation to generation. At the same time, through thinking, observing, and comprehending new ideas and concepts, human beings have enriched the achievements of human ideological civilization. It is right that man has a skeptical spirit, but this suspicion goes sour beyond the limit. Some concepts and theories can be doubted and challenged, but scientific principles, theories, laws and other contents that conform to the laws of nature that are correct through scientific proof cannot be doubted and challenged. Ideas and theories can be denied, but the laws of nature must not be denied. If you doubt and take a negative attitude towards everything in the human world, how many resources and energy will be wasted, many detours will be taken, everything will have to start from scratch, everything will be re-verified, people will die, and the results will not be significant. Man can doubt, but he cannot doubt everything; man can deny, but he cannot deny everything.

You can challenge authority, but you can't challenge science that has proven it right; you can challenge ideas, but you can't challenge the core values recognized by the people of the world, let alone truth, goodness, and beauty; you can challenge fallacies, but you can't challenge truth. It is right to have a spirit of doubt, but it cannot be expanded or comprehensiveized. It is better to be trustworthy than to be fully trusted. It is better to believe in books than to have no books, and it is better to believe in people than to have no one. Those who believe must believe, and those who should not believe must be doubted. Doubting everything is a sign of lack of self-confidence; believing everything is a sign of ignorance. People must have a spirit of doubt, which is the source of correcting errors and making progress; people must also have a spirit of trust, which is the source of increasing knowledge, enhancing ability, and enhancing trust. What kind of people should be skeptical? Be skeptical of those who tell a lie a thousand times as the truth. Be skeptical of those who reject the hero's point of view altogether. Be skeptical of those who overturn the case for the villain. Be skeptical of those who boast of their omnipotence and omniscience. Be skeptical of those who have no real talent and no skills. Be suspicious of those who say hello at every turn, never consider their own interests, and show that they are morally upright. We must be skeptical of those "two-faced people" who are inconsistent in words and deeds, who are duplicitous in their words, who do not believe in their words, and who say one thing and do another. Be skeptical of those who do not abide by laws and regulations, do not abide by public morality, and undermine public order and good customs. Be suspicious of those who say they are worth tens of millions or billions at every turn. Doubts about some people can avoid being deceived; doubts about some things can avoid mistakes. The conclusion is that man must have a spirit of doubt, but he must not doubt everything; man must have a spirit of negation, but he must not deny everything. We must doubt the things that are false, ugly, and evil, but we must not doubt the things that are true, good, and beautiful; we must deny the things that are false, ugly, and evil; but we cannot deny the things that are true, good, and beautiful. Because it is false, ugly, and evil, we doubt; because of truth, goodness, and beauty, we affirm.

About author:Li Wenwu is a famous management scientist. Columnist of well-known management websites such as "BoRui Management Online", "China Brand Management Network", "China Management Communication Network" and so on. He is also a multi-media and online writer. Research: History, Economics, Management.