Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth – more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. ~ Bertrand Russell (“Why Men Fight: A Method of Abolishing the International Duel,” pp. 178-179)
I have not dedicated a column to a discussion of a quote before, but I had forgotten about this old chestnut and thought it merited comment. Let me begin by saying that I doubt that people fear thought more than they fear torture, cancer, or the death of their children. But with those caveats out-of-the-way, let’s proceed.
Russell thought that most people don’t like to think, as another of his quotes reveals: “Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so.” When he says that people “fear thought,” he is giving a reason why many people don’t like to think. Of course, persons reject thinking because of laziness or inability or other reasons too, but fear is a major inhibitor of thought. But why?
People reject thinking not just because it is hard, but because they worry it will undermine their long-held, comfortable beliefs. Having taught university philosophy for more than 30 years I have seen this first hand. Students often dread thinking about controversial topics like politics, ethics, and religion.
But probe even deeper. If you start thinking, you may reject not only god and country but love, friendship, freedom, and more. You may discover that what is called love is reducible to chemical attraction; that friendship is mutual reciprocity; that morality is what those in power decree; that messengers of the gods are often psychologically deranged; that freedom is an illusion; and that life is absurd. Thought breeds the fear that we will lose our equilibrium, that we will be forced to see the world anew. We fear thinking because what we and others think matters to us.
I used to tell my students to not believe that ideas and thoughts don’t matter—that they only exist in the ivory tower with no significance for the real world—as if beer and football are more important. No. Thoughts and ideas incite political revolutions; they inspire people to sacrifice their lives or kill others for just and unjust causes alike. They determine how one treats both friends and enemies, and whether family is more important than money.
Even the most abstract thinking affects the world. Non-euclidean geometry or symbolic logic are about as abstract as thinking gets—yet you can’t understand Einsteinian gravity without the one, or run computers without the other. Thinking matters to us, to others, and to our world. That’s one reason why we fear it so much—it shakes our foundations.
But not just any thinking will do. If we truly love truth we will engage in careful and conscientious thinking informed by the best reason and evidence available—our dignity consists, in large part, of good thinking. Almost fifty years ago I entered a university where the following inscription was etched on its library’s wall. I have never forgotten it:
“This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
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There is a certain hubris to Russell’s sweeping condemnation of the majority of individuals (“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth”, “Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so.”). These assertions imply that fear is holding back the vast majority of individuals from being able to think critically. While common anxieties like fear of the unknown or fear of failure may play some role, I think the more likely explanation is more mundane: the vast majority of individuals lack the means, motive and/or opportunity to think critically (especially to anywhere near Russell’s level). Those three ingredients are required for an individual to accomplish anything in life, from the simplest task to the most complex analysis (or, for that matter, to rob a bank). Each individual has a unique combination of genes, nutrition, family influences, educational opportunities and the chance encounters with the environment that all influence the ability and desire for critical thinking. But even with the highest ability and motivation, an individual might have a stifling daily life that limits the opportunity for thought.
Rather than focusing on “fear” as preventing critical thinking, which is an implicit judgement on an individual’s strength of character, we need to focus on providing the environment that can enhance the ability, motivation and opportunity for an individual to critically think about today’s issues, with motivation being the most difficult to address. We need to strengthen education and foster reflective public discourse, which is exactly what this web site does (and I cannot compliment you enough about it). Like it or not, the internet is becoming our primary source of information about the world and on-line education will someday, perhaps soon, replace the bulk of traditional education (although I hope there will always be a place for a device-free classroom). We need more free and open sites like this one to help us practice and learn to think critically, which is the skill needed sort through all the information and misinformation that permeates the internet and the world at large.
My favourite quote.
I have chronic fatigue and writing and reading are very draining and si I have had to resort to putting things in verse toexpress what I think.
Indoctrinated and infantile
We swallow every insane lie
As denial, blind hope and optimism,
Hold up walls that are our prison
Evidence, data who needs that?
It’s just a bunch of useless facts
That only make me feel uneasy,
A little sick, a little queasy
It’s the migrants NO it’s the Jews
So many scapegoats, its hard to choose,
Don’t forget the neo- Marxists
Hiding at home in your bread baskets!
Now, I haven’t studied history
Or any political economy,
Don’t know shit about anthropology
Or the development of society
I have no expertise at all
No diplomas hang upon the wall,
But I know everything there is to know
Because Jordan Peterson told me so,
Now I am registered with Jobster
Looking for work as a lobster
So, hang on tight we’re going down
Slavish fools to knaves and clowns,
No money left for the sick and poor
It’s all been spent it all on endless war,
And edumacation, well who needs that?
When it’s all downloadable from an app
Now, faster than the world’s revolving
Humanity is fast devolving
While good ol’ Donald is no one’s hero,
Why, he’s fiddler just like Nero
Can’t believe it’s come to this,
My God we’re flucking idiots!