The Religious Dimension of Skepticism

Abstract

Philosophical skepticism, according to numerous influential accounts of it, is bound up with our failure or inability to adopt an “absolute” standpoint. Similarly, many religions speak of an “absolute” that also is beyond human reach. With this similarity in mind, I will develop what I take to be a religious dimension of skepticism. First, I will discuss the connection that Stanley Cavell draws between his reading of skepticism and the notions of God and original sin. I will then refer to William James’s description of the religious experience of conversion and apply it to the transformative aspect of skepticism. Finally, I will argue with respect to mysticism and negative theology that the transformative experiences one can find in both skepticism and religion can be interpreted as yielding an experiential understanding of the finitude of the human condition. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen, Anthem.1 I CONTEMPORARY EPISTEMOLOGY, skepticism is usually construed as a paradox that needs to be resolved at the theoretical level. In its deepest and historically most influential forms, however, skepticism is best understood as a philosophical practice that leads to a transformation of the self. Based on his interpretation of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Stanley Cavell emphasizes this existential dimension of skepticism. In addition, he relates it to central religious notions, such as God, sin, and conversion, and recent work on Cavell highlights structural analogies between Cavell’s philosophy and pivotal Christian doctrines. Against this background, I aim in what follows to show that both philosophical skepticism and central aspects of religiosity attempt to grapple with the finitude of the human condition. Skepticism addresses our finitude when it refers to an absolute standpoint and claims that we cannot attain it, while many religious traditions posit some sort of “absolute” that is beyond human reach. In both cases, the opposition of the human and the absolute standpoints paints us as finite beings who do not and cannot attain a full grasp or control of their own existence. In this paper I will argue that both skepticism and religion can be interpreted as yielding an experience that is transformative in that it engenders an attitude of acknowledgment regarding our finitude. It is in this sense that I speak of a religious dimension of skepticism. 1Leonard Cohen, Poems and Songs (New York NY: Random House, 2011), p. 188. Konstanzer Online-Publikations-System (KOPS) URL: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-2-1bbibro1qxr9r4 Erschienen in: International Philosophical Quarterly ; 61 (2021), 1. S. 77-99 https://dx.doi.org/10.5840/ipq202134167