Pyrrhonism, Depression and Anxiety
If the cure for depression and anxiety is a matter of flipping a proverbial mental switch, then that switch is in a dark, unfamiliar room and the location of the switch is unknown. There are several techniques for finding this switch to happiness, some have more mixed results than others. One of these classic methods is to list ten things that you are thankful for, or happy about. However, there might be a modification to this that is worthy of more praise, and it comes from the philosophical school of thought known as Pyrrhonism.
Pyrrhonism is the original philosophical school of skepticism. Pyrrho, the founder, was said to be so skeptical that his students had to follow him around to ensure he wouldn’t jump off a cliff, as he wasn’t so sure he would die if he did so. “Suspending judgment about beliefs was not just a means to determine what we should and should not believe, but was treated by Pyrrho as the only reasonable reaction to the fallibility of our faculties, and the apparent fact that powerful arguments can be given equally on both sides of a question.” (Stephen Law, “Visual Reference Guides: Philosophy”) The major point here will be that powerful arguments can be given equally on both sides of a question.
If powerful arguments can be given equally on both sides of a question, could I be wrong when I think I am unhappy? A phenomenologist (one who studies ‘what it's like to be x’) would say that you can’t be wrong about that, it is something that you confirm through the phenomena of your emotional experience. However, what if I am just stuck in negative self-talk? Normally, in this case, a therapist might suggest listing out those things you are thankful for or happy about. While this may help for some, it wasn’t that helpful for me. The problem was that even if I could list the things I was happy about, they never really connected with the thing I was unhappy about at that moment in time. For example, work. I may be unhappy at work because of some aspect of the job, and the things I list that make me happy have absolutely nothing to do with the things that are making me unhappy.
This is where Pyrrhonism can come in. When it comes to things like one's job, they might say that they hate their job. If you agree, though, that equally powerful arguments can be given on both sides of a question, the question of whether I hate my job or not, must have an equally powerful argument as to why I love my job, or at least don’t hate it. The goal for you, my dear budding philosopher, is to find out what that argument is.
I hear some screaming from the back from the more astute in the audience. If Pyrrhonism is predicated on a skeptical take, then isn’t it self-refuting? Can one really propose that we can’t hold knowledge without that being a knowledge claim? If I can’t know anything, can I know that I know nothing? “No one knows anything — and even that’s not certain… Everything can be questioned, everything doubted. The best option, then, is to keep an open mind.” (Nigel Warburton, “A Little History of Philosophy,” emphasis is mine) The answer Pyrrho might give is, you’re right (possibly!) It is possible that skepticism itself could be wrong. I can’t be certain of it, even it itself should be questioned. Though, I think we can agree that everything, and I mean everything, can be questioned, even our own phenomenal and emotional experiences. There are also equally powerful arguments on both sides of a question. So really, you might find, or formulate the argument that suggests that you are indeed happy, and why you are happy.
Another, more screeching rebuttal has to do with a more recent concept; this is a form of self-gaslighting. The question is, are you really just covertly verbally abusing yourself, just lying to yourself that you’re fine when you really aren’t? This is a fair, and honestly, troubling response. There is the possibility of this happening. Similar to the reason the therapist “list ten things you’re happy or thankful for,” issue, the issue is that we are not accounting what we are unhappy about. The goal here is, the pyrrhonist would say, that we need to question these things. I am not here to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t leave your job for instance. The goal of the pyrrhonist is to ask whether the reason you want to leave your job is really a good reason or not and explore that possibility. Maybe you have reasons for hating your job, but is the grass really all that much greener on the other side? Look at the argument for why you really love your job. Then decide.
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