Between Extreme Skepticism and Extreme Faith

Whatever you say, the internet can breed all sorts of amazing claims. Yesterday I ran across site where people claimed they discovered immortality. Today, someone affirmed they found the secret of happiness. In a world characterized by uncertainty and skepticism, such self-assurance is quite disconcerting.

I'm not going to say they are whacks. Why would I? That would imply I also hold the key to some absolute truth, and I don't. In fact, I am quite bewildered and a bit envious. I have been looking for some miracle, or a revelation, my whole life. I wish I could wake up one morning knowing the secret to happiness. For goodness' sake, I'd be content to know what happiness is.

Truth is, Descartes ruined it for all of us when he said we must question everything. He helped plant the cursed seed of rational skepticism within us all. Yet even Descartes knew that, if one questioned everything, there'd nothing left. So he put forth his own statement of faith: "I think, therefore I am". That was not a logical argument, but a cry of existential despair. If we carry too far along complete skepticism we find ourselves, often unconsciously, in desperate need to believing in some kind of absolute truth. We suddenly swing from extreme doubt to extreme faith.

So then, in the existential uncertainty of today's world, are we to accept some bloggers' claim to knowledge of happiness or immortality? I am afraid we are inclined to. We can't wait to be mesmerized, awed and convinced. Until we are, we just play skeptic.