The Theme Of Skepticism In Peter Elbow's 'The Believing Game'

James Harvey Robinson once said, “Most of our so-called reasoning consists in finding arguments for going on believing as we already do.” Peter Elbow’s “The Believing Game,” extends on this idea (without directly referencing it) in many ways. In “The Believing Game,” Elbow asserts the idea that our society is built around methodological skepticism. We have ingrained in ourselves this skepticism, but have methodologically separated it from the act of reject/not believing. Elbow acknowledges the usefulness of this, but sees it as only a half (albeit, a very useful half). Elbow posits that we ought to do what we’ve done for skepticism with belief: develop a methodological form of believing that we can keep separate from the act of true acceptance/belief.

First, he notes that skepticism is hard to turn against one’s own ideas. How do you point a rhetorical gun at yourself? Elbow’s point is that it’s easier, and more fruitful, to welcome in new ideas. In doing so, we might see in them the good that our own ideas and beliefs lack. Elbow’s claimed second compliment believing brings to skepticism is that it’s a great tool in helping to choose between competing ideas. What good is showing the flaws of an idea if there are no merits to another? It’s easier to get an idea to be believed if you show the good in believing it. The third point, the one completely unique to believing, is that it presents us with many new elements that skepticism does not. It provides us with the ability to welcome ideas and sit on them, rather than just chewing them up and spitting them out. Believing allows us to respond to ideas in a non-confrontational way. Within “The Believing Game,” Elbow is trying to make the assertion that believing is not something we typically do, and further asserting that we ought to do it because it would add something that is missing from our current (almost exclusively skeptical) way of thinking. For Elbow’s claims, there are a couple of things that need be

In a lot of ways, they are the same idea. To be able to thoroughly consider one’s own ideas is a way of choosing between competing ideas, or at least part of the process of doing so. Elbow’s reasoning for believing in the case of one’s own ideas is that a different perspective provides us insight into our own ideas. But in a way, crawling into another idea to see whats wrong with our own ideas is just believing for the purpose of skepticism. This then feeds into the point of choosing between competing ideas. To present the positives, to believe in the idea, brings us back to square one. Giving positives to show the merit of an idea only leads us right back to possibly becoming engulfed in an idea without being able to criticize it. There’s undoubtedly benefits to what Elbow suggests, but it can just as easily lead all the way back to where we