Book Review — Doubt: A History
As we have been doing some science or skeptical book reviews lately, I think it is fitting to introduce the Yokohama Mama, Amy. Amy has been a long time commenter and the creator of the Yokohamamama in which she blogs abut being a mom in Japan. Her comments are always witty, funny and to the point. She is also wonderfully read and fiercely intelligent. Perhaps, if everyone encourages her, she will throw us a few more great book reviews in the future. Without further ado, Amy.
Doubt: A History (Jennifer Michael Hecht)
So, this whole Atheist Doubt thing– it’s just a fad, right? A few scientists—-Darwin, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, a few others. And a bunch of cranks like Hitchens after 9/11—that’s all, right?
Not so. Not even remotely.
Historian and poet Jennifer Michael Hecht takes anyone who cares to on a fantastic journey through the History of Doubt. From the early Greek doubters in the 6th century BCE down to the present day, she traces the history of skepticism, inquiry, and doubt. From the Pre-Socratics and the Epicureans, to Job and the author of Ecclesiastes, to the Jains and the Buddhists, Cicero and Lucretius, doubt among medieval Christians and Muslims, the Renaissance and the re-flowering of doubt with the aid of the printing press. The reader is taken through the minds of Voltaire, Diderot, Spinoza, Hume, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, and what Einstein meant when he said “God doesn’t play dice with the Universe”.
She writes lucidly and often humorously, putting the obscure and the well-known into historical and philosophical context. None of these thinkers was doing their thinking in a vacuum—they all stood “on the shoulders of giants”, both for their scientific understanding, and in their doubt. As I read, I literally felt my back straighten, my chin lift. I felt as though I, too, stood in the company of giants. Socrates. Lucretius. Koheleth. Hypatia. Marcus Aurelius. Avicenna. William of Occam. Erasmus. Voltaire. Spinoza. Jefferson. Paine. Twain. It makes me think of that hymn they sing in the Episcopal Church about saints coming from all kinds of different backgrounds with the refrain “…and I want to be one, too”. Only I’d rather be a skeptic—they really were saints and martyrs in the search for Truth.
The most relevant, and probably interesting, chapter for readers of BABS is Chapter 2: “Smacking the Temple 600BCE—1CE (Doubt and the Ancient Jews).” In it, we get a solid, coherent description of who the heck the Maccabees were, the Saducees, the Pharisees, and the huge influence of Hellenization on the Jews and what came out of the synthesis of ideas from those cultures. In particular, Hecht shines an ultraviolet light on Job and Ecclesiastes, exposing the patterns of doubt in those books without denying their religious nature.
“[This chapter addresses]…two sections of the Hebrew Bible, each one a pinnacle of the human expression of doubt. The first of these is the Book of Job, probably written just before the Hellenistic period; the second is Ecclesiastes, probably written right in the thick of the Hellenistic Age. The doubt in these two books feels very different; one is a howl for justice, the other a soulful wink and a shrug. They are responding to two different versions of Judaism. Yet despite important differences, they both have the same central problem: the world is cruel and good people suffer.”
(Doubt: A History/ p.45)
We Doubters get to keep the most lyrical books of the bible and chuck the rest—not a bad deal.
So who ought to break out the plastic for this book (or at least go to the library and demand that they buy it)? Anyone who enjoys history, for starters (yeah, KK, I’m talkin’ about you). Hecht is an accomplished historian, and highly readable to boot. Also, anyone who has recently (or not so recently) come to the conclusion that the religion they were brought up in is bunk, and is actively looking to see if there are others out there who think that, too. Boy, are there—you may not be able to put this book down. Finally, any skeptic who wants a book to share with believing friends or family members (if you’re up to that point in the conversation). Hecht’s tone is straightforward, but never vitriolic. If you have a believing friend or relative with whom you can debate good-naturedly, this would be a good book to offer in trade the next time they ask you to read the bible (or C.S. Lewis).
I’ll end with one more quote that speaks to why this book needed to be written:
“The only thing…doubters really need that believers have, is a sense that people like themselves have always been around, that they are part of a grand history. I hope it is clear now that doubt has such a history of its own, and that to be a doubter is a great old allegiance, deserving quiet respect and open pride.”
(Doubt: A History/p.494)
p.s.—anyone out there who has already read this, please comment about your favorite bits/thoughts about “Doubt”!
p.p.s—do you think Hecht is a Hermione fan and named it after “Hogwarts: A History”? :
Great review Amy. You make me wish that I had picked this one instead of the one I am reading.
I am enticed. I’ve never even considered the possibility of a history of skepticism (I don’t get out much). But once the idea was implanted, I have become a bit obsessed. I read your review at the beginning my work day and have been wondering about the book since. It is firmly on my list to get.
Thanks for sending the review. I hope this isn’t the last.
Thanks Amy. A lovely piece of writing. I also hadn’t thought much on the history of scepticism, but I certainly will now.
It’s certainly on my list too. It’s being released as a Kindle on the 28th of September, so hopefully I’ll be able to cut down on the backlog of books before then.
I read “The Grand Design” last night, but I don’t recommend it as it’s light on science (in fact I understood all of it without difficulty, unlike “A Brief History of Time”).
Damn Wayne, that’s too bad. I was truly looking forward to that book. I see it has been panned a few times about the web for it content or lack there of rather than its viewpoint. Damn again! Care to review it?
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’ll echo what KK and Daz said–when I found it in the bookstore, my reaction was twofold:
” A history of…*Doubt*? I didn’t know there was….a history…like…”
“Mine!!” And I ran straight to the register:))
@wayne–do you really have 400 books on your kindle? I sigh in envy…:)
I picked up this book at the library a while back and thought it looked too philosophical and lengthy. I don’t remember exactly what I was looking for that day, but I’ll give it another go now. Thanks for the review, very well done!
Thank you kindly! It’s really a history book, not a philosophy book, per se. But since many of the people she discusses are philosophers, “Doubt” ends up serving equally well as an Introduction to Philosophy. As I was reading it, I remember thinking, “Gee–I wish I’d had this book when I was 23 and trying to figure out what Plato and Hobbes and Nietzsche were on about!” Doubt really is the thread that ties them all together, and knowing that makes it easier to later pick up something by any of those thinkers a read it with better understanding.
Don’t be scared off by the philosophy stuff! Her writing is witty and clear, and it’s easy to pick up and put down after chapters. Give it a go!
OK, I’ve read a bit more of the book now. Honestly, I will have to buy a copy someday, because I just don’t have time to make it through the book right now. But I have really enjoyed it.
I think one of the great things about having a religion for me, becoming a Christian, was having a history and foundation for my beliefs. Kind of like getting into a river of thought, community, tradition and being able to float along. As opposed to being the oddball non-believer in a community of cultural Christians, which is how I grew up.
I have been reluctant to accept labels (like atheist), and don’t like people trying to put one on me. At the same time, having non-belief has been a lot harder without a label to rest upon. Hecht’s writing helps with this, normalizing doubt in my mind, making me feel more comfortable in my non-belief.
So just stopping by to say thanks again.
I love “Doubt” and Hecht’s writing in general.
It’s strange when people talk about the so-called “new atheists”, as if Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, and Dennett had sprung forth from the forehead of Zeus somewhere around 2006-2007. I had already read Doubt in hardbound when the polemics of the “four horsemen” hit the scene, and while their books are interesting in their way, if I had to pick a single atheism related book to recommend to anyone, be it a believer or doubter, that book would not be “The God Delusion”, or “god Is Not Great”, it would be “Doubt: a History”.
The sense of belonging to a tradition that one can get from reading Doubt is a wonderful thing to have. It also spawned a lot of side-reading for me. I found a better translation of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations than the victorian-era taxidermy one I had been exposed to in college (I recommend the Gregory Hays translation), tracked down some Epictetus and some Montaigne, re-read Ecclesiastes, and so forth. It was inspiring. I had been an unbeliever and religious skeptic for a long time, but reading Doubt got me to the place where I owned the label “atheist”.
This book, of all others, gives an atheist something that the holy books give to the religious. No, not dogma or doctrine, not commandments or rules, but a sense of continuity and connection. It’s good to realize you are not alone.
PS. I don’t think the title is a Hogwarts reference. I remember hearing her say in an interview that the choice was the publishers recommendation. She wanted to call it “A History of Atheism”.
Here’s the interview:
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/jennifer_michael_hecht_doubt/
”
This book, of all others, gives an atheist something that the holy books give to the religious. No, not dogma or doctrine, not commandments or rules, but a sense of continuity and connection. It’s good to realize you are not alone.”
Well said, sir! I’m so glad you commented–I was hoping somebody else who had read it would comment:)
I agree wholeheartedly–this is the book to give to someone on the fence. The reason I grabbed it so quickly when I saw it in the bookstore was because it was the book I had seen cited *over and over*. By Dennett, by Harris, by Hitchens, and others. There’s even a blurb at the end of “God is not Great”, if I recall correctly, praising Hecht and her work in “Doubt”.
I, too, upon reading it found myself inspired to pick up works that I’d never read, or tried to read years earlier and given up on. She does such a good job of putting ideas into context so that they make sense, so it’s easy to find the connections. I went back and re-read Job and Ecclesiastes, too:)
See, everybody? Told ya her writing was great! It’s a fluffy book, but the writing is so good, you won’t notice the length. It’s one of those books that’s so well-written, you start wishing it were longer when you get near the end.
(p.s.–Hogwarts was a joke:) But I can see why the publisher changed the title–probably figured it wouldn’t sell with the word “Atheism” in big letters on the cover:( Thanks for the link! Off to check it out!:)
Oh, and yes, I even majored in philosophy for a while in college (ended up in something else), but I never felt like I had much of a handle on the greeks until I read Hecht explain them.
She not only is a good explainer, but her writing style has a really warm and personal feeling to it. I find her work a pleasure to read.
I might have stuck with that philosophy major if philosophers wrote like Hecht.
Alright you ignorant atheists… if there is no god, then HOW DOES THE SUN KEEP ORBITING THE EARTH? BAM!
You see people, that’s how you deal with atheist skum. With LOGIC! Hit that bullseye and the rest of the dominoes will come down like a house of cards… CHECKMATE!
And on that note…
Dunt dun duuh DAAAAHHHH!
!!!!!!!!!MY ATHEIST STORE!!!!!!!!!
Aristotle’s Muse
This is my store. Maybe wearing an atheist T-shirt won’t change the world, but enough of them just might.
Nice marketing ploy. You need to add a short out-of-context bible quote for authenticity, though. Something with the word LORD in caps several times. And your spelling and grammar are too good.
Haha… Still he made me look.
Particle physics gives me a Hadron..
Love it!
@Paul–That’s the shirt I like, too:)) I’d get it for my sister, though. She’s the one with the huge nerd crush on Brian Cox…
Oh maaaaan…. now I’m outed as an atheist AND a nerd ;-P Good thing I’m married, or I’d never get a date! And yes, I absolutely COVET that shirt.
Awesome review Amy, now I’m jealous that you got to read that one before me– totally stealing it next time I’m in Japan!!
Had an interesting discussion with a gay chap I work with a few weeks ago, about the relative merits of Brian Cox and Alice Roberts. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Roberts ) It’s not often you end up working with a fellow science-geek on yer average production line, but it sure makes the time pass quickly when you do!
(I paid for it the next day – ended up working with a woman whose only topic of conversation was soap operas..)
Aah now Alice Roberts !! There is a lady to get teenage boys interested in science.
Reason and judgment include the qualities of the leader.
I had been told to prevent the business enterprise all together due to the rejection. People would tell me, ‘Don’t you wish to have a very normal job plus a normal family?’ I suppose that could be good advice for a few people, but I wished to act.