The Way of a Skeptical African

“What is a Skeptic? The Oxford English Dictionary gives this historical usage of the word Skeptic: "One who doubts the validity of what claims to be knowledge in some particular department of inquiry; one who maintains a doubting attitude with reference to some particular question or statement." And: "A seeker after truth; an inquirer who has not yet arrived at definite convictions." “Skepticism is not "seek and ye shall find," but "seek and keep an open mind." But what does it mean to have an open mind? It is to find the essential balance between orthodoxy and heresy, between a total commitment to the status quo and the blind pursuit of new ideas, between being open-minded enough to accept radical new ideas and so open-minded that your brains fall out. Skepticism is about finding that balance. Here is a definition of skepticism: Skepticism is the rigorous application of science and reason to test the validity of any and all claims. Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. In other words, skeptics are from Missouri -- the "Show Me" state. When we skeptics hear a fantastic claim, we say, "That's interesting, show me the evidence for it."” Michael Shermer, PhD’s Huff Post 2/01/2013 article titled: What is Skepticism, Anyway? What is truth? Truth is defined as something that is demonstrable or proven. I call my way of living “the way of a Skeptical African” because I am a skeptic and I am an African. I believe I should question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. I am an African because Africa is my species place of origin. Nevertheless, what I am above all things is someone who seeks truth (i.e. a skeptic) and how or “a way” to apply this truth.

Fairness is not a Fallacy

I recently read an article by Thomas Sowell titled, The Fairness Fallacy. In which he believes it is a fallacy to think life is fair and that we (especially African-Americans) need to get over thinking that it is. I am amazed at people like him who benefited from the very civil rights that he so often attacks (but that is another blog). Nevertheless, I will give him credit for one thing, he made me think. As a result, I asked myself; what is the meaning of Fairness, is Nature fair, and is it a fallacy to think it is Fair? I think that Nature, which is defined as a physical power causing all material phenomena (including life) is fair. What is fair? Fair (adjective) is defined as just, unbiased, equitable, in accordance with the rules. It is synonymous with fair-minded, unprejudiced, objective, disinterested, evenhanded; honest, straightforward, above-board, and upright. If I use the definition of fair as being something unbiased, can I say Nature is fair? In other words, is Nature disinterested or indifferent to our existence? I think Nature meets this criteria for it seems to align with the definition of something that is unbiased, equitable, in accordance with the rules (i.e. the laws of Nature). However, as a subjective being I am driven by desires and needs that are selfish and self-centered. When my subjective desires meet an objective Nature it feels unfair (and Absurd) because it does not meet up to my expectations. Yet, she (Nature) has always been honest in her indifference. For example, she lets you know that everything is impermanent, because she is constantly using her forces to change and recombine atoms into new functions. To give you an analogy, the dinosaur evolved approximately 300 million years ago, and it is hypothesized that a meteor or asteroid 6 1/2 miles in diameter collided with our planet 65 millions years ago, and this is believed to have caused the majority of the dinosaur's extinction (it is hypothesized that birds are the descendents of dinosaurs, see Morphed on National Geographic Wild) and yet, nature has not stop emerging life on this planet. I think we are one of many outcomes of a chain reaction in amino acids that emerged and adapted to the conditions on earth. Our DNA somehow became alive, evolved, and is still evolving, in other words, we are neither a special creation nor made in the image of an invisible disembodied non-physical being, we're just one among many. We happen to be born on a planet with the condition that is conducive for what we call life and Nature is indifferent to our existence, its only focus is how genes are passed on and does not care whether it is a strain of bacteria or a whale, it is disinterested in who does it but it is honest in its indifference and therefore meet the test of being fair, so I think life is fair and all I can do in my subjective self-interest is know that fairness is not a fallacy and live this life the best that I can. Think about it. The African Socrates

Part 1: The African-American a Conservative: Christianity Still Enslaves the Mind Today

Hubert Harrison's essay: The Negro a Conservative: Christianity Still Enslaves the Mind of Those Whose Bodies It Has Long Held Bound which he published in the Truth Seeker, September 12, 1914 is still true today (97 years later). In the essay Harrison analyze and identify three areas as to why African-Americans are Conservative and why their minds are still enslaved by Christianity. The areas he discusses are education inequity, the affects of slavery and Christianity's role in Slavery, and the lack of economic freedom of circumstances, especially in leaders of thought.

Harrison opens the essay with the reflection that African Americans has taken part in every line of intellectual endeavor that Caucasians have, except for radical ideas like "theological criticism, religious dissent, social and political heresies such as Single Tax, Socialism, Anarchism; in other words, African-Americans are Theologically and for the most part Socially Conservative. For example, according to a Pew Forum on "A Religious Portrait of African-Americans" published July 30, 2009: "While the U.S. is generally considered a highly religious nation, African-Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with a religion, attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer and religion's importance in life. Compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African-Americans are among the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, with fully 87% of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another...The Landscape Survey also finds that nearly eight-in-ten African-Americans (79%) say religion is very important in their lives... Additionally, several measures illustrate the distinctiveness of the black community when it comes to religious practices and beliefs. More than half of African-Americans (53%) report attending religious services at least once a week, more than three-in-four (76%) say they pray on at least a daily basis and nearly nine-in-ten (88%) indicate they are absolutely certain that God exists. On each of these measures, African-Americans stand out as the most religiously committed racial or ethnic group in the nation...The Landscape Survey also shows that the link between religion and some social and political attitudes in the African-American community is very similar to that seen among the population overall. For instance, just as in the general public, African-Americans who are more religiously observant (as defined by frequency of worship service attendance and the importance of religion in their lives) are more likely to oppose abortion and homosexuality and more likely to report higher levels of conservative ideology. " Therefore, Harrison's assessment was correct that the African American is a Conservative was true in his time and they are today. The only area which African Americans are not socially conservative comes from economical reasons due to racism and discrimination, African-Americans believe in government involvement in social issues to protect civil rights, voting rights, and to open equal opportunities as well as create a social safety nets like Social Security, Medicaid, and Social Ware fare programs to offset the lack of economic equity in the United States. As a result, when African-Americans voted against prop 8 in significant numbers they were being true to their conservatism.

Part 2: The African-American a Conservative: Christianity Still Enslaves the Mind Today

The first reason Harrison highlights is the inequity in education, for example he states "when we consider that in certain southern counties the munificent sum of 58 cents is spent for the annual education of a Negro child" and the difficult task of even making it to college "we will cease to wonder at the dearth of thinkers who are radical on other than racial matters." Although this may not mean a reduction in African-Americans religiosity, according a 2002 Gallop poll concluded "that those with a lower level of education are more likely to "talk the talk" when it comes to religion -- that is, they're more likely to say they believe in God, place religion prominently in their lives, and recognize religion's importance in the world. But those with a higher level of education are as likely as those with less education to "walk the walk" -- by belonging to a congregation and attending services regularly. These results may point to a failure on the part of organized religion to attract and connect with those with a lower education level, perhaps reflecting the trend in the last century toward more highly educated clergy.
However, even though they do not belong in as great a number or attend as frequently as their more highly educated counterparts, those on the lower end of the educational scale have much more faith in religious institutions, perhaps reflecting a broader tendency to rely on institutions in other areas of their lives -- unions, HMOs, government agencies, etc. Those in this group have far less faith in the individuals at the head of their religious institutions -- the clergy -- than in the institutions themselves." In other words, The United States does not have a strong social safety net and so the poor have to reach out to religious institutions for assistents.

Part 3: The African-American a Conservative: Christianity Still Enslaves the Mind Today

In discussing Christianity's role in slavery, I too wonder with Harrison's assertion that "it would seem that the Negroes of all Americans, would be found in the Freethought fold, since they have suffered more than any other class of Americans from the dubious blessing of Christianity". For as Harrison illustrates the "dubious blessing" of Christianity, were 1. Christianity was used to justify the enslavement of Africans by using the bible for divine sanction of this "peculiar institution", with text such as "Cursed be Canaan", "Servants obey Your Masters" and 2. Christianity stressed "servile virtues of subservience and content" and as we can see "these things have bitten deeply into the souls of black folk." In other words, the very book they call the word of god and the Christian religion the Black folk follow was the very thing used to enslave them and it still does. The Christian Slaveholder knew the Christianity was an effective tool that could be used for subjugation, for they saw how it subdued the Roman Empire and the subsequent European tribes that came into contact with it. In fact, Harrison shows us how it was used in Africa to subdue and create colonialism through missionaries. For when the African closed their eyes the African had the bible and the Europeans had the land. He shows how B. L. Putnam Weale's book the Conflict of Color, naively advised the Lords of Empire (The Imperialist) not to civilize but Christianized Africa in the caption "The Black Sampson and White Delilah", so that "Delilah's work may well be done. Here in America her work has been well done and I fear that many years must pass before the leaders of thought among my people contribute many representatives to the cause of Freethought". 97 years later and still African-American leaders of thought among my people hasn't contributed much for the cause, for example, intellectuals like Cornell West and Michael Dyson, who is a Baptist minister, they both teach or have taught at Ivy League schools and proudly calls themselves Christians. Instead, of becoming theological critics or religious dissidents using historical or higher criticism or other methods that could help deliver their people from the mental bondage of their ancestor's slave-master religion (Christianity); they advocate and proclaim it! As Harrison states " the church among the Negroes exerts a more powerful influence than anything else in the sphere of ideas. Why is this? Harrison contends and I agree that "Nietzsche's contention that the ethics of Christianity are the slave ethics... Show me a population that is deeply religious and I will show you a servile population, content with whips and chains, content to eat the bread of sorrow and drink the waters of affliction. And he concludes that "Here in America the spirit of the Negro has been transformed by three centuries of subjection, physical and mental, so they have even glorified the fact of subjection and subservience. I think this "forbearance" was used during the civil rights movement that advocated "non-violence" and "is found in the fact that their spirits had been completely crushed by the system of slavery". For example, a lot of those who participated in the Civil Rights movement glorify and praise how African-Americans allow dogs to bite them and water through fire hoses to knock them down.

Part 4: The African-American a Conservative: Christianity Still Enslaves the Mind Today

Finally, he see economics playing a role in the enslavement of the mind, especially in African-Americans leaders of thought as he concludes "until Black Leaders are free by their circumstances, is when they will have freedom of thought," because if you make your living by the masses then you need to proclaim what the masses believe, in other words, he who pays the piper calls the tune. This is why a lot of the so-called African-American leaders are ministers.

Harrison essay explains how enslaved Africans adopt their Slaveholders religion and continues to, but I think there's an evolutionary and underlying reason too, it was for group cohesion and survival, especially after the end of slavery when over 4 million slaves found themselves free. For example, Nicholas Wade's book the Faith Instinct How Religion Evolved and Why it Endures argues how religion is key to our survival. Wade hold that natural selection can operate on groups, and that religion is a key tool for group survival, for groups that are cohesive will out compete groups that are less and thus will leave more offspring. In other words, belief in the supernatural was selected by evolution because it enhances our group cohesion by regulating our fertility, trade, warfare, social and national unity. As a result, African-Americans adopted Christianity because it is a slave ethic religion that was the dominant religion in the West and so it was easy for a group of people who had been transformed by three hundred years of subjection, physical and mental, to adopt a religion that had the slave mentality and ethic build into it and so African-Americans used religion through the Black Church to create group cohesion and bind themselves together in order to survive and pass on their genes. I think the way to break the chains of Christianity and other religions are through 1). Equal opportunity in Education and work will open opportunities for economic empowerment, 2) Strong Social Safety nets (countries with strong Social Welfare programs are less religious) and these two will lead to 3) Freedom of circumstances, which leads to freedom of thought. Think About It...

John Doe Socrates