Prof. Douglas I.O. Anele is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lagos. Here we talk about the necessity of skepticism in Africa.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: “Religion is the worst intellectual virus invented by human beings” was a powerful statement from the Sceptical Africa lecture given by you. What makes religion the worst intellectual virus known to humankind?
Prof. Douglas I.O. Anele: It is so because religion promotes the deadly pandemic of gullibility, ignorance, in addition to intellectual indolence and dishonesty masquerading as faith or piety. It cripples critical thinking and the quest for scientific understanding of the world. Unlike other viruses that attack the body, religion attacks the human mind by fostering hatred, discrimination, slavery, fear, cruelty, sheepish reliance on supernatural intervention through purported miracles, and dogmatic acceptance of the pronouncements of ancient peoples of old (mostly men) as the inspired or revealed inerrant word of imaginary deities. In fact, virtually every instance of man’s inhumanity to man is caused either directly or indirectly by the religious mindset.
Jacobsen: “This is the time you must eat, drink, sleep scepticism.” Another piercing statement from the series. What is the crucial time in the university and in school generally for young people to become acquainted with and informed about scepticism?
Anele: The best time to introduce scepticism, the critical or sceptical attitude to a child is immediately he or she begins formal education. Unfortunately, the capacity for critical thinking in an overwhelming percentage of parents and teachers have already been blunted, if not damaged irreparably by their exposure to religion from early childhood. Still, for growing children, the danger can be minimized if right from the commencement of formal education they are introduced to critical thinking, informed about the importance of asking questions, together with the benefits of basing their beliefs on sufficient evidence and withholding judgement if evidence is either inconclusive or unavailable. It is never too early to train child to form the habit of healthy doubt. At the tertiary level, non-philosophy students should be made to study courses in logic, critical thinking, the history of philosophy, epistemology, and ethics so that they can learn the virtue of scepticism. Despite the fact that religion has weakened the capacity for critical thinking in most people, it is still possible through strong advocacy by individuals and nongovernmental organisations across the world interested in spreading secular humanist outlook to help them undergo a paradigm-shift by rejecting religious dogmas and embracing the scientific or critical attitude. Moreover, given the epidemic of fanaticism spreading in various parts of the globe presently, particularly virulent violent Islamism represented by the Taliban, ISIS, Al-Qaeda and so on, the imperative for the adoption of the sceptical attitude by human beings is a matter of life and death and preservation of the planet and its amazing contents. To be clear, no time is too early or too late for any human being to adopt the sceptical or attitude, especially towards religion.
Jacobsen: “Scepticism is very important for intellectual maturity.” How can dogma be differentiated from scepticism as intellectual immaturity is differentiated from intellectual maturity?
Anele: The difference between dogma and scepticism is analogous to that between intellectual immaturity and intellectual maturity. Indeed, they are two sides of the same coin. Being dogmatic means accepting claims and belief systems as true without question, without bothering whether the claim or belief in question is backed by sufficient evidence. Religion is necessarily dogmatic because it is based on faith, which is defined in The Holy Bible as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Religious or irrational faith is persistence into adulthood of children’s unquestioning belief in the truth of bedtime stories that parents told them in order to get them to sleep. On the other hand, the sceptical attitude differs from the dogma attitude since unlike the latter the former derives from the recognition borne out of experience that human beings are fallible and can make mistakes in their quest for truth or reliable information about reality. Therefore, a sceptic tries hard to align his beliefs to the evidence, and refrains from drawing definitive conclusion if sufficient evidential support is unavailable. In fact the sceptical attitude is an indispensable sign of intellectual maturity; it allows for flexibility in thinking and readiness to change one’s opinion on any subject-matter or topic whenever better evidence becomes available. This implies that an intellectually mature person must be a critical thinker and a sceptic, always willing to ask searching questions in order to enhance knowledge and understanding. Conversely, a person who is intellectually immature tends to be dogmatic, gullible and naïve towards opinions expressed by people in positions of power, authority and influence, especially members of the clergy. In his mental calculus, the question of evidence and truth is of secondary importance; what really matters is the status of the speaker or writer. In religious matters, an intellectually immature believer sees every criticism of religion and the clergy as a taboo, and gets angry quickly when presented with an opinion that contradicts his own. To such a person, questioning what is written in “holy books” or changing one’s opinion as a result of superior evidence is a sign of weakness. That is why the intellectually immature are drawn to religion the way iron fillings are drawn to magnets.
Jacobsen: How did the students take the lecture by you?
Anele: The lecture was well received by the audience, which includes staff and students from the University of Lagos and Lagos State University, and others. Some of them raised the usual questions regarding the existence of God, witches, miracles and the creation-evolution debate. I tried to respond to the questions as well as I could. It is somewhat disappointing but not surprising that even philosophy students exposed to the rudiments of logic and critical thinking still accept uncritically the doctrines contained in the Holy Bible and Holy Koran, and other superstitious beliefs of their cultural groups. Nevertheless, I encouraged them not only to imbibe a healthy dose of scepticism but also to investigate the topics further from an open-minded perspective to deepen and broaden their understanding.
Jacobsen: What do you consider the cultural gaps in the educational system for students in developing critical thinking and sceptical capacities?
Anele: The fundamental hiatus between “the will to believe” by students and igniting their critical faculties through encouraging them to adopt the sceptical attitude is religion. As the late scholar, Prof. Ali Mazrui pointed out, Africans are the bearers of The Triple Heritage, namely, indigenous cultures of autochthonous African communities; the colonial imperial legacy of the West; and the spiritual and cultural influence of Islam. This triple heritage did not emphasise the importance of inculcating critical thinking and the sceptical at titude in the system of education that flowed from them. Aside from being suffused with supernaturalism and religion, traditional African cultures laid stoo much emphasis on respect for the opinions of elders, a situation that discouraged questioning accepted beliefs and critical thinking. Now, central to the educational system inherited by African countries colonised by the West is the spread of Christianity through the mission schools, whereas several countries in West and North Africa were Islamised through jihads. Consequently, even today the problem of surmounting cultural impediments to teaching students how to sharpen and deepen their critical faculties and mainstreaming it into the curricular at various levels of education is a herculean task. The situation is worsened by the domination of the commanding heights of educational institutions by devout Christians and Muslims.
Jacobsen: How powerful is religion and anti-science thinking within the local educational curriculum? How does it limit the possibilities of the students as they progress through life and become adult citizens, workers, taxpayers, and so on?
Anele: It is extremely powerful, as could be seen in the compulsory routine of singing religious songs and prayers during the commencement of each school day, prescribed school uniforms designed to meet the requirements of religion, domination of both academic and non-academic positions at all levels of education by Christians and Muslims, the spread of faith-based institutions, and the teaching of religions from the primary school level to the university level. This is inimical to the production of citizens with the appropriate level of critical thinking and sceptical attitude required for navigating rationally the hydra-headed challenges posed by the fast-changing, knowledge-and-technology-driven globalising world.
Because religion is based primarily on fear – fear of death and the purported hereafter, fear of the unknown, fear of failure in one’s undertakings, and that vague generalised fear existentialists called angst – it limits their capacity for creative thinking and imagination in handling the problems of daily life (both personal and professional) after graduating from school. Religion places a lot of economic burdens on believers, as many Christians are required to pay tithes and all sorts of offerings to finance numerous church programmes and the lavish lifestyles of church leaders. They are also victims of extortion by unscrupulous “men and women of God” who promise them miracles and divine interventions to solve their problems. Many Christians have ruined their lives, families, friendships and careers by unquestioning acceptance of hifalutin insipidities emanating from various pulpits across Africa. Similarly, thousands of Muslims have lost their lives fighting jihads or holy wars, and by enforcing the antediluvian bloodthirsty blasphemy laws have murdered people for no good reason. Specifically, the lunatic accusation of insulting Allah or Prophet Muhammad has been used as an excuse to either imprison or kill people in the most gruesome manner. Unfortunately, devout Christians and Muslims do not understand that religion is at bottom a human invention that reflects the good, the bad and the hideously ugly in our species.
Jacobsen: What is your major aim in lectures and public work for scepticism in Africa?
Anele: My overriding aim is to wake Africans up from their dogmatic slumber and open their minds to the immense benefits, both individual and social, of imbibing the critical or sceptical attitude in their dealings with themselves and others. I also want to make them realise that the easy irrational resort to religion and rampant supernaturalism is the main reason for the chronic underdevelopment of the continent. I am convinced that the more Africans abandon religion and embrace the scientific or critical attitude, the attitude of basing their beliefs on sufficient evidence, the brighter the future of the continent. QED.
Douglas I.O. Anele PhD
Professor of Philosophy
University of Lagos
NIGERIA.
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Photo credit: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.