Skepticism

I am not infrequently fascinated by a lack of skepticism that people have for their own thinking. When I was 10 or 15 years younger, I thought it might be one of the characteristics of adolescent thinking but the older I get, the more I see the pull towards the belief in one's own thoughts as rearing its head in every Quarter of the life cycle. My own belief in the sanguine value of skepticism may be a case in point. I've long-cited Sextus Empiricus' claim that the suspension of belief brings with it "ataraxia" or quietude. But even this, if I am true to my thinking, must be susceptible to open questioning. Maybe it's healthier to become fixed in one's system of ideas.

Ah, well! That's who I am. I still find myself annoyed when people state their ideas as if they were incontravertible fact. Democrats, Republicans? Liberals and Conservatives? All seem to speak as if God's whispered words were flowing into their ears -- and betimes -- their ears, alone. As I mentioned in a previous posting, I've been involved with multiple others on the distinction between sadness and depression. I find myself surprised to hear just how many people have communicated to me their sense that ...

     # even if sadness and depression are different, sadness leads to depression ...

     # wistfulness, sadness, depression and melancholy are essentiall synonymous.

Yesterday, the Conservative pundit, David Brooks, wrote a column on the experience of vulnerability and suffering .... while we may come from different political camps, I admire the depth of Brooks' thinking .... and so I recommend his New York Times piece:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/opinion/brooks-what-suffering-does.html?_r=0.

Enuff for today.