Baby Steps

Science tells us what we can know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot know we become insensitive to many things of very great importance. Theology, on the other hand, induces a dogmatic belief that we have knowledge where in fact we have ignorance and by doing so generates a kind of impertinent insolence towards the universe. Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales. It is not good either to forget the questions that philosophy asks, or to persuade ourselves that we have found indubitable answers to them. To teach how to live without certainty and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age can still do for those who study it.

- Lord Bertrand Russell in The History of Western Philosophy

I have always had a great interest in philosophy and I completely resonate with the paragraph quoted above. And the last line.. '... to live without certainty and yet without being paralysed by hesitation'.. isn't this similar to the verse in Bhagavad Gita

"karmanye vadhika raste
ma phaleshu kadachana
ma karma phala hetu bhurba
te sangostav karmani"

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

I had posted earlier here that both faith in God and scepticism can be equally powerful motivators in quest for answers. Philosophy described above takes the path of scepticism - 'living without certainty..’. Somewhere I get this feeling that the above description removes philosophy from faith and religion completely which may not be necessarily true. While philosophy should be free from dogmas, should it also be necessarily free from beliefs?

With my limited knowledge, I currently feel that Advaitha philosophy, beautifully combines the belief in supreme (not necessarily god) and scepticism through 'tat tvam asi - you are that' . These are my nascent thoughts that would evolve in due course. The process is thrilling. And to help me through this journey, I picked up this book -The History of Western Philosophy – Lord Bertrand Russell. I am still reading the preface (quoted above) and it already looks like a great read. It is a big fat book and is going to take me months to peruse through. Looking forward to some stimulating conversations.