As a teen seeking a direction in life, I remember
stumbling upon Bertrand Russell’s version of the ten commandments in a school
library. They changed my life forever. Naturally to the disdain of those around
me, I became a bit more stubborn about discussions, and I at the risk of
becoming an idealist, I found myself rooting out peoples’ fear of controversy.
Those commandments are as follows:
- Do not feel certain of anything.
- Do not feel it's worthwhile to hold on to a belief by concealing contrary evidence, for that evidence will surely come to light.
- Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed.
- Overcome opposition via argument, not force or authority. A victory based upon force is unreal and illusory.
- Have no respect for the authority of others, for there will always be counter-authorities.
- Don't use force to suppress opinions which you think are dangerous, for if you do they will surely suppress you.
- Don't fear being different and eccentric, for every mainstream idea was at one time eccentric and different.
- Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
- Be scrupulously truthful, even when the truth is inconvenient, for it is always more inconvenient when you try to conceal truth.
- Don't feel envious of the happiness of those living in a fool's paradise, for only a fool would see it as true happiness.Likewise, in a New Statesmen interview with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens advised to “never be afraid of stridency” Combined, I sometimes find myself in situations which are tantamount to social rejection, even expulsion in some cases. Verily, this is the worst of feelings, yet I feel an obligation to enlighten, despite the unwillingness to hear.
Such was the case in Goa, India. This sand-laden state has been a hotbed of hippy activity for decades, and without knowing what I was getting into, I was invited to stay at a woman’s house in the north. A lovely and warm-hearted woman who dedicated her time to helping slum children, I found great difficulty in commenting on the various delusions she ascribed to.
That said, her mistaken understanding of science and
nature has the potential to cause great harm in India, with locals and
foreigners alike. Namely, the ‘ancient Indian science’ of Ayurveda came into
talks many times within the first day. As she swears by its ability to cure
everything from aches to cancer, I had to inquire how she knew this. Listing
various anecdotal and testimonial evidence, including her own recovery from
deadly diseases, she invites me to experience the therapy for myself. Out of my
price range, I had to settle for a little time surfing the web to read about
the peer-reviewed studies detailing the efficacy of this treatment.
Despite my interest in analyzing the pseudoscience,
my host was not entertained. In fact, as soon as I saw she did not find it
amusing, I laid off the subject. As well as hosting three other people at the
same time, numerous other guests visited her apartment while I crashed there.
And although my efforts at conversation were relatively tame, I found myself in
a community of people not only apathetic about objective truth, but vehemently
opposed to people with strong opinions. Minding my own, I tried reading
instead, that is, until someone mentioned that evolution was phooey.
And after decimating this idea, ensuring that an
admission of ignorance was made, I merely pointed out that this line of
thought, although it is advisable to be skeptical, undermines the people’s
understanding of science and potentially education itself. This did not further my position in the group.
I took my leave the following day as I realized I might be giving a bad name to
science myself. In hindsight, I have
never had this much of a reaction in India so far, yet it was inevitable to
happen sometime, and of course, I should have expected it in Goa.
Then again, lesson be learned here, don't expect much from those who are willing to break all ten of Russell's rules.
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