A dialogue

A dialogue

Sceptic: Are you the philosopher who still believes in God?

Philotheus: Yes, I am, Sir. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?

S.: It doesn’t matter. Names are conventions. Listen to me, don’t waste your time anymore: why are you so foolish to think that something is certain? Even God? My body could be an illusion! Everything is doubtful!

P. I agree with you that more or less everything under our observation is uncertain. However, as I can see, you actually believe that something is certain...

S.: How dare you? What?

P. That everything is doubtful. This must be certain. So, let me ask you: why is it certain? If I can doubt myself, what is the source of this certainty, namely that everything is doubtful? Is this not an illusion too? But if it is, it’s different from the other illusions, just like certainty is different from uncertainty. Hence my question raises again: why are they different?

S.: I don’t care! Why all these questions? I used to ask questions like you and then I realized that the only important thing is pleasure. Pleasure is what remains after doubt.

P.: Here we are. That’s the reason why I believe in God. Think about it. I eat something and it’s delicious, but it’s also finite. I want pleasure without end, my dear! I call it “God”. At the beginning it’s a little tough, I see, but trust me it’s just like coffee: the more you drink, the less bitter it is. So as you can see, you settle for a finite pleasure while I go for an infinite one. Who is the bigger lover of pleasure now?

 

Article written by Davide Falessi