Let me tell you a bit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. He was born in Scotland in 1859 and he studied to be a doctor at Edinburgh University. Medicine took him to the Arctic Circle (on a whaling ship) and Africa before he established a practice on the English south coast.
His first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, became widely read worldwide before he was 30. Throughout his life, Conan Doyle saw the “Holmes” stories as commercial and wished to be regarded as a serious author by his other work (plays, historic novels and poetry - Sherlock Holmes initially gained huge readership in a popular magazine).
A man of principle and courage, whatever his own reservations regarding his creation of Sherlock Holmes, his knighthood and other awards made him one of the most influential and respected men of his generation. But he was not without controversy. He held strong beliefs in the occult and in particular he expounded spiritualism, being able to communicate with the dead.
In 1917, photographs taken by two girls of themselves playing with fairies were published - *, *, Conan Doyle took them as genuine evidence of the existence of fairies. Even at the time, pre-Photoshop!, there was skepticism about their authenticity - despite moving there is no blurring of their wings or consistent lighting. Conan Doyle published pamphlets and even a book “The Coming of the Fairies”, using the photographs as further evidence of another world.
A very self confident man, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle strongly rebutted any argument made against his beliefs. From what I have read, there was nothing that anyone could say that would weaken his beliefs that fairies existed and it is possible to communicate with the dead. Today, of course there are many people who still believe in both spiritualism and fairies. Whether or not you do doesn’t really matter. There are many things that I don’t believe in, that I think are as plausible as fairies, that others do believe and follow. Some are people I respect and whose opinions I regard highly in other areas.
When someone adopts a particular belief system, it is natural to filter in what supports that belief and reject what undermines. You cannot truly believe and embrace, but remain skeptical. This post was partially inspired by an email I received this week from the author of an ebook on the Law of Attraction. He says he responds to any criticism or to those who say the Law of Attraction is a fraud with “If you say so”.
As I have outlined in my About this site page, I don’t believe personal development has to be done under the framework of any system. If you have one and it appears to be helping, great - I’m not going to suggest you change or find arguments to undermine that belief. But a system in itself isn’t going to bring about changes.
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7 responses so far ↓
1 Bruce // Nov 19, 2007 at 2:28 am
You are so PC in writing this. I agree 100%. If you are improving and not at the expense of anyone else, go for it. Largely though most systems are sustaining their founder or their founder’s organization. I believe in being eclectic or what I have heard described as the grocery store method. When I find something on the shelf I want, I take it but I don’t take everything and not the same things every time. I use what works where ever I find it and am grateful to whoever showed the way. Keep up the good work.
2 gale // Nov 19, 2007 at 5:29 am
wow, extremely informative about the author of my fav books. loved how you integrated historical biography with the topic of confidence. i’ll take the notion of “if you say so” to heart, for bloggers like us in the advice arena are especially prone to criticism, and that’s perfectly fine. great post again
3 Karen (Karooch from Scraps of Mind) // Nov 19, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I think the true strength of any belief system lies within the believer not within the system. The system is just a lens to focus the inner strengths of each individual. That’s why the outcomes from each system are so inconsistent.
Some thought provoking stuff here. Let’s give it a Stumble and see what others think.
4 David Rogers // Nov 19, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Bruce, gale & Karen
Thank you all for your informative comments. I should stress I was trying to avoid saying belief systems are wrong - but I have just come to recognise that I am never going to embrace those that I have looked at. You could argue I am as entrenched as Arthur Conan Doyle, but I accept and am delighted others find benefits from say the L of A.
If people do believe in fairies (or spiritualism for that matter) and it helps their life, again I’m delighted for them.
5 Mert Erkal // Nov 21, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Great post David. I read his books, but i did not know much about him. Very enlightening…
6 Seven strange things you didn’t want to know // Feb 2, 2008 at 12:15 pm
[…] Which of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Stories takes its name from a […]
7 Distract yourself from self talk | How to Have Great Self Confidence // Mar 15, 2008 at 11:38 am
[…] Albert Hall, London in 1930. A public meeting was held by family, friends and other supporters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, five days after his death. The photograph depicts an empty chair, left vacant for Conan Doyle in […]
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