The Doubt Factor

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” - René Descartes. Renée Paule took this advice to heart in The Doubt Factor - sowing seeds of doubt about a range of topics and giving them the benefit of her unique take on things. She encourages us to use our own powers of reasoning, rather than taking things at face value. Renée writes “Doubt feeds on the fear of imagined consequences, such as making a mistake we may later regret; doubt holds us in a state of indecision … it becomes our master.” She makes a good case that we need to “… learn to doubt intelligently.” - to wield doubt rather than to be wielded by it. There is much in this book to give us pause for thought - perhaps even enough to shake off complacency.