304 THE PRESENT IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE 



with established convictions, and which, therefore, makes 

 progress possible. Skepticism is part and parcel of the 

 general scientific attitude of wanting to know and of wanting 

 to know the grounds for knowing. The function of skepticism 

 in relation to intellectual and other progress is that it 

 challenges convictions which produce intolerance and end 

 in persecution. The value, which inheres in a wholesome 

 questioning of all authority as such, is so great that we can 

 ill afford to decry the doubter. The skeptical individual, is 

 the exceptional individual, because men tend to go with the 

 herd. There is no danger that the skepticism which even- 

 tuates in group activities will undermine traditions that do 

 not deserve destruction. 



In a world of action, skepticism cannot go far without a 

 rebound, since skepticism defeats its purpose when it results 

 in doing nothing in an emergency. It is a thoroughly scien- 

 tific procedure to recognize the importance of the skeptical 

 frame of mind, and at the same time to recognize the paral- 

 ysis that comes when skepticism degenerates into a pessi- 

 mism that sees no solution and possesses no convictions. The 

 cure for the impotent frame of mind, which is thus pro- 

 duced, lies in action. The doer must be in some measure 

 a doubter of tradition, if his work advances to higher levels. 

 When doubting ties the hands that will not long be tied, 

 doubts are flung aside by the demand for doing. Every one 

 knows that he must know he can do it to go on to victory, and 

 there is this same attitude in the collective behavior of the 

 group. 



Historical examples, showing how skepticism has grad- 

 ually replaced the intolerance of an earlier time by the 

 toleration we now enjoy, will occur to the reader. The 

 spirit of toleration exhibited by ancient Rome may be cited 

 as a genuinely scientific quality of the Roman mind. The 

 success of the Roman conquests was in no small measure due 

 to the respect accorded to the beliefs of the conquered. The 

 Roman outdid the Greek in this particular. The beliefs of 



