British philosopher David Hume wrote some very important works on empiricism and skepticism; in fact, skeptics today continue to use his insights and ideas when critiquing the beliefs and arguments of believers. But does the mere fact that we know how to critique a belief mean that we should bother? Sometimes, shouldn’t we wonder what the point of it all really is?
- Does a man of sense run after every silly tale of hobgoblins or fairies, and canvass particularly the evidence? I never knew anyone, that examined and deliberated about nonsense who did not believe it before the end of his enquiries.
- David Hume, Letters
This “why bother?” question seems to be at the heart of the above quote from Hume. There are lots of things out there that people believe in, but why should we spend time and effort investigating and perhaps debunking those beliefs? Just because we can? Just because they are ridiculous? Or shouldn’t the fact that they are ridiculous be a reason to find better things to do with our time?
This is something that quite a few atheists have asked — if the nonexistence of gods is so obvious and the belief in gods so nonsensical, what’s the point of even bothering to talk about it? We don’t go around arguing against the existence of dragons and elves, do we? Isn’t there something better to do with one’s time?
There’s more than a little validity in such a position, but the same is true in its opposite. Although it is true that we don’t go around investigating or debating the existence of elves and dragons, it also isn’t true that either belief or disbelief in elves and dragons has much in the way of social consequences. Thus, any lack of action with regards to those entities has more to do with their relevancy than with their ridiculousness.
Thus, Hume is at least a little bit wrong in that a person can legitimately deliberate about “nonsense” without believing in it before hand — it all depends upon the context and what is being discussed. We certainly shouldn’t “run after every silly tale,” but the fact of the matter is that there is no tale so silly that it couldn’t possibly have serious consequences for us as individuals and for society as a whole.
That being the case, sometimes it would be irresponsible not to run after some of these silly tales and investigate them, trying to see if there is anything substantive to them and, if not, making sure that people know this. If these inquiries are done in the context of a more general promotion of skepticism, reason, and critical thinking, and I don’t believe that it should ever truly be a waste of time.
