Skepticism and Misology
Skepticism and Misology
Exploring the Introduction to "Plato's Critique of Impure Reason" by D.C. Schindler
Skepticism, in proper doses, is an attitude that keeps reason honest. Reason must reach beyond itself to discover new contours of the real, but this process is fraught with the risk of reaching in the wrong direction. Skepticism is what keeps reason on track: it is necessary to distinguish between mere appearances and reality. However, to be “reasonably skeptical” presupposes access to the real is possible, and that the perspectives which the skeptic designates as appearance are discernible from the real.
“The difficulty is that in order to understand something as an appearance, rather than as the reality itself, one must be able to contrast it with what is other than appearance. In other words, in order to “see through” all appearances, conventions, prejudices, and presuppositions—which is the skeptics’ pride—one must in fact see beyond them. A fish could never “know” it was in water without at some point breaking the surface.”
Of course, skepticism can be taken too far. To become skeptical of reason itself is to saw off the very branch upon which skepticism rests. This radically depraved form of skepticism that disregards reason itself is what D.C. Schindler refers to as misology:
“Using the term in a way slightly different form Plato’s usage, let us give the name misology to this utterly radicalized skepticism, followed all the way to its practical conclusions. For Plato, misology is what befalls one who has been “burned” by reason and now harbors a deep mistrust and resentment. He refers to misology as the greatest evil a person can suffer.”
A fundamental distrust of reason is not only a great evil to be suffered, but is also necessary for purposely engaging in acts of malevolence. An unreasonable attitude of radical self-centeredness and disregard for others is prerequisite to abhorrent action. In other words, to invoke a Star Wars motif: misology is the path to the dark side:
“If skepticism preserves the differences between knowledge and ignorance and affirms the latter, the ruined form of reason represented by misology surrenders even this: it gives up not only any basis for distinguishing what is rational from what is not, but also any felt need to make the distinction. This point cannot be overstated if we wish to understand our present situation.”
Acts of malevolence necessitate a focus on one’s narrow self-interest and the turning of a blind eye to the broader consequences catalyzed. By ignoring the whole—the bigger picture—an actor can rationalize acts of evil, typically by allocating attention solely to one’s own short-term gain. One must reject the intrinsic goodness of justice and embrace a totalizing lust for power to perpetrate otherwise unthinkable acts. Of course, such acts involve a twisting of the fabric of reality that inevitably snaps back to injure the evildoer. In this way, true evil is inherently self-destructive, which is the greatest advantage of good over evil in the grand scheme of things:
“The proposal we make here… is that once reason loses its ordering to, and responsibility for, the whole, it will inevitably become a servant of “whatever works.” In other words, its own claims will be trumped by whatever most effectively brings about a desired result.”
In later installments of this series, we will see how a proper relation with the good necessitates the ecstatic dimensions of both love and reason: an approach to living that can mitigate evil when enacted authentically and consistently…
Be sure to check out the “Platonic Philosophy Series” where John Vervaeke and I take a ~10 hour deep dive into these essential topics:
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