Critique: Doubt

I recently reread John Patrick Shanley’s play ‘Doubt’ after a conversation with a friend on society’s need for religion. Doubt, based in 1964, uses the systemic child abuse by Catholic priests, to bring to light the evolution and importance of uncertainty. On an initial reading, ‘Doubt’ may seem to concern itself primarily about the physical abuse, moral corruption, and stifling sexism in organized religion. However, on a deeper note, ‘Doubt’ highlights the relevance of uncertainty in a culture incapable of true debate.

It is disconcerting that the feeling of doubt has evolved from an admirable trait to a sign of weakness in modern society. Shanley uses the backdrop of church scandals to underscore how, despite the universe inherently not characterizing any certainty, we still constantly crave the comfort of false assurance. Our role models, from polarizing politicians such as Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, to contrarian tech moguls such as Peter Thiel and Paul Graham, are pillars of confidence without any potential of doubt in their beliefs. However, if you scratch beneath the surface, any of these characters will find it hard to evolve their thought process. Growth can only exist when the stillness of dead habits is broken by the tectonic uncertainty of change. And when the argument is far more important than the truth, growth is merely inhibited.

This would have not been an issue if society had applauded those with the moral fortitude to hold doubt. As Shanley states in his preface, “doubt requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy; because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite — it is a passionate exercise”. In fact, most innovations in history have taken place when individuals challenged the certainty of societal norms. Consider Nikola Tesla: We would still be living in the DC-world of inefficiency and smaller distribution networks if Tesla did not have the courage to question the certainty of the theories of the famous Thomas Edison. Any shifting breakthrough in science, business, and society would have been impossible if they were led by individuals who were unwilling to accept opposing viewpoints. However, in our courtroom culture where performances and applauses induce greater external validation than the internal ability to question ourselves, we have made it hard for ourselves to succeed.

However, we aren’t (just yet) doomed to fail. On an organizational level, workplaces should build systems lacking hierarchy where a healthy questioning of current practices and assumptions is encouraged. On an individual level, we should constantly think from first-principles and strip ourselves of any facade of confidence that may have been accumulated for years on end. Our confidence should not stem from our ability to be right all the time, but rather from our willingness to explore what might be wrong. The essence of life is expressed at its peak only when we embrace doubt. In order to change, we need doubt.