Published: 11:22 PM, 05 September 2026
Behind the Cloud of Doubt: Philosophical Treatise of Syedur Rahman
Bernard Priyam
Syedur Rahman was an eminent progressive educator, philosopher, and intellectual whose visionary ideas were decades ahead of his time. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman acknowledged with deep reverence the profound impact Principal Rahman had on his formative student years. His intellectual rigor and analytical depth earned high esteem across the political and intellectual spectrum—including President Ziaur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmad, General MAG Osmani, General KM Shafiullah, HM Ershad, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, Ghulam Azam, Muzaffar Ahmad, Moni Singh, Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Moudud Ahmed, and Shamsul Huda Chowdhury. Principal Syedur Rahman passed away on August 28, 1987.
The Asian Age presents a serialized English translation of selected excerpts from his autobiography.
Principal Syedur Rahman writes:
A name serves merely as a conventional identifier, though it rarely conveys the true essence of an individual. Occasionally, a person becomes identified by an external entity, place, or landmark. In my case, I am widely recognized not by my given name, but by the name of my residence: ‘Songshoy’ (Doubt). Mentioning ‘Songshoy’ immediately establishes my identity. Therefore, I feel compelled to articulate my perspective on this concept, which has come to symbolize my public persona.
‘Songshoy’ is the name of my residence. Why assign such a title to a home? The term holds deep personal significance for me, though its negative connotation in public perception remains puzzling. I have adopted skepticism as a foundational pillar of my intellectual life; it has served as an enduring source of motivation and analytical rigor throughout my journey. To me, doubt and inquiry are synonymous. Absent inquiry, human existence becomes static and meaningless. Doubt triggers thought, and thought enables critical analysis. Without doubt or inquiry, the impetus to explore the unknown remains dormant. As Plato observed in the Apology, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Indeed, skepticism is the precursor to philosophical inquiry. An individual devoid of doubt is equally devoid of philosophy.
Regrettably, theoretical skepticism remains largely unappreciated within our social framework. The majority of individuals lack theoretical doubt, hindering positive societal transformation. By accepting traditional values and dogmas as absolute truths, progress is constrained. Lacking inquiry, society remains tethered to legacy paradigms. Yet doubt is the bedrock not only of philosophy, but also of scientific inquiry, a reality evident to any scholar of intellectual history.
My residence, ‘Songshoy’, is a structurally sound, three-story building constructed on legally deeded land. Where, then, does the element of doubt reside?
I invite the reader to analyze the context. A closer examination reveals the core underlying question. As an educator relying solely on a modest monthly salary without auxiliary income, I managed after covering basic living expenses to construct a permanent multi-story structure. Meanwhile, eighty-five percent of the national population lacks adequate food and clothing. My fundamental doubt lies in the legitimacy of this property ownership.
Can I truly claim ownership? Contemporary discourse frequently invokes secularism, socialism, and egalitarianism. Yet critical questions persist. By definition, secularism dictates that worldly affairs be evaluated through rational, empirical frameworks, free from metaphysical or supernatural influence. Temporal matters ought to remain distinct from transcendent considerations. However, practical observation reveals a stark contrast.
A pervasive obsession exists regarding metaphysical validation and reward in the afterlife, often accompanied by indifference toward current socioeconomic realities. There is limited commitment to social sacrifice or human welfare, contrasted with significant devotion to abstract constructs driven by prospective otherworldly gain. True egalitarian and socialist frameworks prioritize collective service and sacrifice over individual acquisition. In practice, however, personal accumulation contractually predominates, with minimal effort directed toward the collective advancement of humanity. This disparity inevitably generates profound skepticism.
Beyond these macro-level considerations, skepticism extends to everyday socioeconomic conditions:
Educational Standards: High examination pass rates and a proliferation of degrees raise fundamental questions regarding institutional quality.
Employment Security: The expanding workforce faces ongoing uncertainty regarding long-term job stability.
Public Health: Widespread concerns persist regarding food safety and adulteration.
Infrastructure and Energy: Shortages in energy supply threaten to disrupt national transport networks.
Public Safety: Daily reports of violent crime generate pervasive anxiety across demographics regarding personal security.
In summary, both in theoretical domains and practical reality, human experience remains bound by multifaceted uncertainties.
Principal Syedur Rahman’s treatise seamlessly integrates personal circumstances with broader socioeconomic analysis. Today, ‘Songshoy’ houses the headquarters of The Daily Asian Age. This publication reflects that same progressive legacy, serving as a platform for critical inquiry and intellectual discourse.
Syedur Rahman’s reflections unveil that approaching arguments from the position of blind faith rarely leads to effective decisions, which is why a skeptical attitude toward unsubstantiated claims has been practiced in science for centuries. Dissecting skepticism as a theory of knowledge, one can understand the philosophical ramifications of the specified approach better and, therefore, apply it in good faith to address problems critically. Having been established as the method of evaluating the information received from traditional sources of knowledge, skepticism allows spotting and correcting an error of judgment, thus helping to forward the argument and locate the truth.
Syedur Rahman was aware of the fact that helping to correct errors of judgment, skepticism may imply that complete accuracy of stating the truth may never be achieved, yet it sets the course for locating the facts that lie in the closest proximity to the ostensible truth, thus leading to the best solutions that can be applied to a specific scenario. Therefore, in moderation, skepticism represents a healthy attitude toward the analysis of information and the assessment of the available options. While skepticism may imply that the absolute truth cannot be found, it does not encourage one to do so. Instead, skepticism should be used to evaluate information critically and view it from different perspectives, locating its value as the data for decision-making.
In Western philosophy, skepticism is the attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas. Skeptics have challenged the adequacy or reliability of these claims by asking what principles they are based upon or what they actually establish. They have questioned whether some such claims really are, as alleged, indubitable or necessarily true, and they have challenged the purported rational grounds of accepted assumptions. In everyday life, practically everyone is skeptical about some knowledge claims; but philosophical skeptics have doubted the possibility of any knowledge beyond that of the contents of directly felt experience. The original Greek meaning of skeptikos was “an inquirer,” someone who was unsatisfied and still looking for truth.
In light of Syedur Rahman’s discourses, the source of human knowledge remains a debatable issue due to the existence of diverse philosophical arguments. The skepticism theory involves questioning the likelihood or certainty of acquaintance. According to Vaughn, people lack knowledge in fundamental ways and their beliefs are unfounded or false. Skeptics question the sufficiency or dependability of knowledge assertions and its foundational sources. Ancient and contemporary skeptics have established arguments to challenge the claims of dogmatic theologians, philosophers, and scientists. For instance, David Hume is a prominent skeptic driven into cynicism such notions as the external world, causation, and inductive reasoning. Skepticism contributes to concerns regarding primary sources of knowledge, including perceptions, memory, introspection, and reasoning. In this regard, epistemological skepticism depicts the primary sources, such as perceptions and reasoning, as unreliable.
Perception generates knowledge by concentrating on the senses to acquire information about the world. However, it can give a representative view of the world, which might not be true. Hence, it becomes a challenge to justify beliefs or knowledge of things outside a person. For instance, an individual might perceive a submerged rod as bent, but this could be wrong. Perception represents the rod as appearing in a particular way, but it turns out that the view is erroneous. Consequently, an individual cannot justify the validity of perceptive knowledge.
Although Syedur Rahman’s intellectual brilliance, scholarly contributions, and notable achievements are increasingly overlooked in contemporary discourse, he remains an extraordinary polymath and an enduring fountain of knowledge in the pursuit of human progress.
(To be continued)
Bernard Priyam is a freelancer
and a columnist.
