American writer Michael Shermer on the afterlife, testing our capabilities and why we need to deviate from the planned route. Psychologists and life coaches unanimously repeat: if you want positive changes, learn to leave your “comfort zone”. Michael Shermer is no stranger to forays into the unknown. At home, the 62-year-old American is popular primarily as the founder of the Society of Skeptics. Under his leadership, a team of analysts for a quarter of a century has been teaching the audience to separate the wheat from the chaff, and the facts from the fictions.
The skeptic is not Shermer's only "job". Before that, he managed to try himself as a journalist, cyclist, missionary, entrepreneur, scientist. In addition, he is the author of 14 bestsellers. The lover of change told Focus about the benefits of skepticism, his new book, and also about what experiments on oneself lead to.
The nickname Mr. Skeptic stuck to Shermer for a reason. It is difficult to name a phenomenon, idea, discovery or gadget that has not been studied and tested by his Society. Everything and everything is questioned.
- I didn't come to skepticism right away - for seven whole years I was a true believer, - Shermer recalls with a smile.
In the 1970s, Christianity in America was on the rise. Therefore, when high school student Michael became interested in religion, his family, who did not have a special interest in the church, took it calmly, like a fashion trend. Under the influence of a peer, Shermer became a member of the Presbyterian Church.
- I remember returning to school, I shared this news with a believing acquaintance who, like my best friend, hoped to convince me to attend the service. He was a Jehovah's Witness and was very upset when he learned that I had chosen the “wrong” church. For me, this was the first proof that religion can divide and condemn.
It is today the grown-up Shermer who posts cynical tweets like: “Jesus died for us, but only stayed dead three days. So what did he sacrifice for us - his weekend? And in his youth, he was absolutely satisfied with Christian dogmas.
It was not enough for Michael to believe "for himself." He became a missionary: he went from house to house, knocked on doors, tried to talk to people about faith. “I took it very seriously,” he smiles. He entered the university to become a certified religious scholar.
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Shermer did not make grandiose plans - like opening his own church or christening the whole world. He studied theology because it answered “big” questions about the creation of the universe and the nature of human relationships. Considering that science makes it more convincing, he switched to experimental psychology.
What from the outside seemed to be a usual change of specialization in the West, became a new page for Shermer. He broke not only with theology. Unbeknownst to himself, the guy stopped wearing a medallion, symbolizing his belonging to the church. The contours of a small fish with the Greek inscription "Save you, Son of God Jesus Christ" have lost their sacred meaning for him. And Shermer did not recognize pectoral crosses.
-The cross is a reminder of torture and capital punishment. It seemed to me that a Christian who wears a cross is like a Jew who wears a miniature gas chamber around his neck.
Doubts arose in the gullible youth. He asked himself: how can Jesus be both a son of God and a man at the same time? After all, the law of identity, invented by Aristotle, reads: A is A; It cannot be something that is not A. Neither the pastor nor fellow parishioners could explain how something that goes against scientific laws works. “Can God be whatever he wants? Logically not a very useful answer,”Michael lamented.
An irrevocable break with faith occurred when his girlfriend had a serious accident. Despite the most sincere prayers, she never recovered. Then Shermer said to himself: God could allow this only if he, God, does not exist. The missionary became an openly atheist.
- What did you feel then - fear, relief, maybe anger?
- Relief to some extent. I felt guilty pretending to be a believer, even though I was no longer. It was nice to tell myself the truth. Friends and relatives also breathed a sigh of relief: I stopped "educating" them and all the time talking with them about Christianity. Delicacy and unobtrusiveness in matters of religion - that was not about me.
Not a psychologist
Giving up a career as a theologian is not the last course Shermer has taken. After receiving a master's degree in psychology, he unexpectedly got a job as a correspondent for a bicycle magazine. Classmates were perplexed: what did the young psychologist forget in sports journalism?
- Once you got an assignment - to write about the cyclist John Marino. You are so imbued with the topic that you bought a bicycle, began to participate in bicycle races. Later they became the owner of the bike show. Did you get the feeling that you have moved away from science, are doing the wrong thing?
- And how to understand what is needed? They don't write about it in textbooks. You can do whatever you want, at least here in the States. I liked being in shape: exercising, feeling healthy and strong. When people started paying for it, the interest only grew. This got me involved in business.
Shermer deliberately set high standards for himself: open a bike shop, organize a bike show, thunder across the country, concluding lucrative contracts with television. Without slowing down, he entered doctoral studies - this time he was interested in the history of sciences. In addition to cycling and entrepreneurship, teaching, writing and paying lectures were added.
He looked like an entertainer juggling with pins. The pins became more and more, the speed of rotation increased.
- I tried to conduct experiments on myself. It was interesting to find the limits of my physical capabilities. At some point I realized that I don't know anything about it, - the writer frowns.
"How long will it last for me?" Shermer asked himself this question as he rode the winding Loveland Pass cycle route. He did not know whether he would reach his intended goal, whether he would like to give up cycling. He had no idea what he would do next. And where does he get so many doubts about politics, God, UFOs, economics, megavitamins and a whole list of other things?
Shermer would later call this trip "a little moment of insight," and on August 6, 1983, the day when he finally accepted his inner skeptic and realized that he had something to tell the world about.
Skeptic
Without shelving, Shermer moved to Los Angeles and formed the Society of Skeptics.
- The first thing that comes to mind when you hear this name: "Probably, these people sit in a circle and just criticize everything they see."
- The Society of Skeptics is a non-profit scientific and educational organization. Sceptic Magazine is the voice of our society. Each issue is devoted to a specific problem, but there is room for other less serious topics. We meticulously analyze everything that people talk about, what they hear. For example, in the past few years, everyone has been looking to see if there is a link between vaccinations and autism. The answer to this question is much more important than reasoning about whether aliens exist and whether horoscopes can be relied on. Another popular topic is climate change. There are those who are amused by the mention of global warming, and those who are confident in the urgency of this problem. So who should you believe?
Mr. Skeptic is adamant: neither one nor the other. On the pages of the journal, he questions the theses of both sides, demands proof or refutation, and in a scientific form. He teaches the same to his readers. He boasts that his new book, which will be released in January, will be no exception, will be as educational as previous bestsellers.
- It is already known that "Heaven on Earth" will be released in Russian. Tell us about the book.
- It is dedicated to scientific research about what happens to us after death. And about whether it can be avoided. I want to know if scientists admit that we can live forever? I am Mister Skeptic. I have a lot of questions. Can we freeze ourselves and then come back to life? Are there food elements that, if we eat them, will prolong our life for many years? Can we download our consciousness to a computer? The latter, if you think about it, is not the best option: computers do not last forever, they have to be replaced every few years.
- Are you afraid of death?
- Not afraid. I don't think about her often. The best way to not worry about death is to live a good life. Life is what counts for us. Sometimes people ask me: "Where do you think we go when we die?" My answer is: "The same place where we were before we were born." That is, nowhere.
At the same time, Michael Shermer admits: he would be happy to be wrong. After all, the afterlife is a blank slate. And trying something new is great. Who, if not him, should know about it.
Anna Sinyashchik