"Civilization is Not Due to Religion but to Skepticism"
The Scopes trial of the 1920’s was deemed to be the trial of the century, mostly due to the renowned people involved. Clarence Darrow, one of the nation’s most famous defense attorneys, worked for the defense while William Jennings Bryan, a very prominent politician, helped the prosecution. These two major players had totally opposite views about religion and its role in modern civilization. These views came to light before, throughout, and after the trial. In his book, Summer for the Gods, Edward J. Larson quotes Darrow as saying, “[t]he origin of what we call civilization is not due to religion but to skepticism….The modern world is the child of doubt and inquiry, as the ancient world was the child of fear and faith” (71-72) before the trial began. This one quotation makes Darrow an ally of Charles Sanders Peirce and an enemy of William Jennings Bryan.
Charles Sanders Peirce wrote an essay titled “The Fixation of Belief” in which he shows the relationship between doubt, inquiry, and belief. According to Peirce, doubt is a necessary emotion because without it one would never inquire as to whether or not one’s beliefs are true. Peirce writes, “[t]he irritation of doubt causes a struggle to attain a state of belief. I shall term this struggle Inquiry” (23). Therefore, one needs to doubt his or her beliefs in order to inquire about the truth of them. According to Peirce, “[t]he irritation of doubt is the only immediate motive for the struggle to attain belief….With the doubt, therefore, the struggle begins, and with the cessation of doubt it ends” (23). If one does not inquire about one’s beliefs, he or she will be in a perpetual state of doubt.
Peirce also outlines four methods of how to inquire so far as so the doubt is eliminated and the belief comes to be known as true to the believer. He calls these the “methods of fixing belief” (Peirce 24). The four methods are tenacity, authority, a priori, and science (Peirce 24-26). Once one applies one of these methods to a belief and proves the belief to be true, in the eyes of the believer, the believer has no doubt about the belief anymore. Peirce says, “…as soon as a firm belief is reached we are entirely satisfied, whether the belief be true or false” (23). At the end of the essay, Peirce comes to the conclusion that the method of science is the best because only through this method can a belief be proven universally true. Peirce writes, “…the method must be such that the ultimate conclusion of every man shall be the same. Such is the method of science” (26). This statement means that no matter how many times someone inquires about a belief through the method of science, he or she should come to the same conclusion as his or her predecessors. The three other methods, tenacity, authority, and a priori, prove a belief to be true to the believer but not necessarily the mass population. Peirce says, “[a man] wishes his opinions to coincide with the fact, and that there is no reason why the results of those first three methods should do so” (28). Therefore, the method of science is the only method that can prove a belief to be true objectively.
Since Peirce concluded that the method of science is the best method for determining the objective truth of a belief, he and Clarence Darrow have much in common. Darrow would agree that the method of science is the best if one wants to objectively secure his or her beliefs because, according to Larson, “[Darrow] frequently appealed to science as an objective arbitrator of truth” (72). Darrow has also said that “[s]cience is the same everywhere” (Larson 156). This statement directly corresponds with Peirce’s idea of the “ultimate conclusion” (Peirce 26) that the method of science provides.
Darrow’s belief that “civilization is not due to religion but to skepticism” (Larson 72) also makes him a friend of Peirce. Religion is a mixture of the methods of tenacity and authority and therefore is not the best way to determine the objective truth of a belief. Larson quotes Darrow as saying that religion is “a very dangerous doctrine” (71). It is dangerous in the fact that people tenaciously hold onto what the Bible or any religious authority tells them. Darrow believes that this is the wrong way to obtain the truth. After interrogating Bryan on the witness stand, Darrow said, “[the questions] compelled Bryan ‘to choose between his crude beliefs and the common intelligence of modern times’” (Larson 188). From this quotation, it is obvious that Darrow does not think religion is a valid way of fixing beliefs. Darrow, described as “the village skeptic” (Larson 187) by one newspaper, believes in questioning most everything and not letting anyone tell him what to believe. He feels that “[i]t is best to leave everyone free to work out things for himself” (Larson 136). Skepticism is very similar to doubt in that it needs to exist in order for the objective truth of a belief to be determined. Civilization cannot progress if society believes everything one says and never questions any of it. Darrow believes that “the modern world is the child of doubt and inquiry” (Larson 72), meaning that modern civilization tends to question just about everything. It is only through skepticism, or doubt, and inquiry that civilization can and does progress.
Darrow’s belief that skepticism has taken the place of religion in modern civilization makes him an enemy of William Jennings Bryan. Bryan believes that religion still has a very strong place in the modern world because he believes that religion “transcends all the learning of men” (Larson 190). This means that Bryan thinks that no matter how much scientists discover about the universe and everything in it, the Bible and religion will always be correct. Bryan also thinks that people should believe the Bible and religious authorities without questioning any of it. During Bryan’s time on the witness stand he said, “I believe in creation as there told, and if I am not able to explain it I will accept it” (Larson 189). Obviously, Bryan prefers the methods of tenacity and authority because he believes religion no matter what new scientific evidence scientists discover and he does not dare to question his religion. Perice says,
Men who pursue [the method of tenacity]….do not
waste time in trying to make up their minds what they
want, but, fastening like lightening upon whatever
alternative comes first, they hold on to it to the end,
whatever happens, without an instant’s irresolution.
This is one of the splendid qualities which generally
accompany brilliant, unlasting success. It is impossible
not to envy the man who can dismiss reason (28).
This quotation truly applies to Bryan. During Darrow’s interrogation of him, Bryan clung to his beliefs so adamantly that even people on his side thought he went too far. Darrow described Bryan’s beliefs as “fool ideas that no intelligent Christian on earth believes” (Larson 190). Darrow criticizes Bryan’s beliefs so harshly because the methods of tenacity and authority almost directly contradict the method of science in determining the objective truth of a belief. Bryan and Darrow are natural enemies in this respect.
In conclusion, Darrow’s belief that “civilization is not due to religion but to skepticism” (Larson 72) makes him a friend of Charles Sanders Peirce but an enemy of William Jennings Bryan. Peirce and Darrow both believe that the method of science is the best way to determine the objective truth of something. They also believe that without doubt and inquiry civilization would never advance. Bryan does not necessarily believe that the methods of tenacity and authority are the best but in practice he clings tenaciously to his beliefs. While neither Darrow’s nor Bryan’s view is one hundred percent correct, both views made themselves very evident throughout the Scopes trial and helped add to the drama of the event.
Works Cited
Larson, Edward J. Summer for the Gods. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1997.
Peirce, Charles Sanders. “The Fixation of Belief.” Liberal Studies 1: The Human Experience. Ed. David Burrows. 13th ed. Acton, MA:Copley, 1999. 23-29.
© October 12, 1999
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