Doubt is the foundation of certainty .......
Suspicion of those that think they know what's right
Judged and measured on so many things that creates an anxiety of things out of our control to be able to control the outcomes
Healthy and unhealthy ways of doubting
Can be used as a basis for further exploration
Mistakes made in believing we have an enormous degree of control and certainty
There my be no definite decision that is true for all time
It is associated with fear and failure and something to be expelled
Addicted to certainty - says Mark Littlewood
Doubt is a fearful thing for people to express - don't know, not sure, I cannot be certain,
Doubt gets crowded out and is considered a sign of weakness rather than something to be explored
All anyone can offer is their best judgement
Persecution complexes - unhealthy doubt - other ways to look at doubts.
the adoption of extreme certainty stands in major institutions such as Government, Churches.
A way to deliberately seek to understand that it is OK to doubt or to make mistakes
Humour eases anxiety and creates a space to risk thinking differently
Maverick's help to raise question with a diverse range of views - hooray for Maverick's
Champion free speaking - but this brings fear - creates choices
Too much choice can be debilitating
Certainty is an illusion - certain knowledge means that something works in a certain context but not finite
People seem to expect certainty and this is a cultural thing
Determinism - strict laws do exists and brings predictability - but not everything in the world does follow laws
Descartes - turns doubt on itself - doubt everything you can and see what's left standing
"I am here quite alone" - what can he be sure of? Senses can be unreliable and sometimes deceive us - we see and perceive - but does this mean it is actually how it is. Can we have faith?
One point of certainty is own existence - even if in doubt about everything else I exist
I think therefore I am - but a subjective view only and very dualist - mind and matter separate entities
Can't be sure of this :))
Mathematics seems to provide clarity and distinction -
Science proceeds by formulating evidence - specific, measurable, - start of certainty?
Science measures some things but ----
e.g. can friendship be measured - yes number of friends, what does it mean, how long? But the essence of friendship is difficult to get at and individuals ideas are neither right or wrong and therefore there is uncertainty - room to explore - or just cut and run
Science delivers results - society have become used to it and ignore caveats and uncertainty - contributes n pressure for scientists to get it right - a trap. But if not seeking certainty what is the point ......?
A thirst for certainty is what has brought the modern world.
There are limits to what we can know - open mindedness, doubts, self assessing and questioning
Maybe our brains are built on doubt - 2 sides of brain are mutually incompatible - both necessary
Left side of brain - focus and specifics - internally consistent but detached view. Control the way we talk with one and other. Only sees what it knows. Exclusive and only knows what it knows.
Right - broad open attention - good at handling unexpected. Knows because it is uncertain - inclusive and understands it's partner.
But this knowledge is not certain.
Left hemisphere produces a map of reality - limited knowledge can be better than too much - ie simplicity
It's competitive and about gaining a result
Right empathy and seeing a bigger picture and more complex
Politics seek control. Markets recently show that there is rise and fall - but when all good forget that there are uncertainties - good and people become complacent. Collective mania and tell each other reassuring facts forgetting uncertainty - lack humility of not knowing the possibility for the future.
Uneasy relationship with uncertainty - financial markets good example.
Betting on future - people take comfort in collective behaviours -
false sense of security comes from collecting data - confidence comes from increased information even if information does not actually improve probability
authority is believable and says its OK even if false
This is a psychological phenomena -
Decisions - cannot be made on knowing but on the next step and let go of the outcome
Uncertainty and getting people to think for themselves
use of philosophy -
well conducted philosophical views means keeping open minded and exploration to seek the truth but not expect it
requires measured way rather than an irrational lust for certainty
and intelligent conscious decision to explore
let go of control - people places things
Descartes and scientific requirement for certainty have perhaps contributed to the dislike of doubt
We humans seem to be adventurers and living is about exploring everything and anything - celebrating doubt and uncertainty
and having faith that everything will be OK whatever happens.
Notes from a debate and further contemplation of doubt and uncertainty
Very interesting
I will think more on doubt and uncertainty - I know I had this conversation in connection with relationships. Wanting some sort of commitment and yes wanting certainty but aware that certainty could not be had. Taking one day at a time but somehow with a view to development rather than a view to prove there is nothing. And doubt - behaviours create doubt but if there is a commitment then there is adesire to leanr and grow and gradually eradicate dount - as one philosopher suggests working towards certainty even if it can never be achieved. And this of course does not mean removing sponataneity and choices.
Spontaneity is something alongside and choices are something more directly linked with uncertainty.
Impulsion and compulsion - mmm other variations - a compulsion though seems less about choice and a feeling of need.
Bliss
XX
"We take things very personally at the moment. People get very disturbed and angry when their certainties about themselves and their world are questioned." So says the philosopher Angie Hobbs. But why?
A troubling search for certainty arises from research and science.
It can be enrichening to doubt.
Dark Matter - does it exist?
The process of scientific knowledge is about proving that something is incorrect. There is room for certainty ie that somehting is not right. But cannot be certain that science is right.
Epistemology
We approach human problems with a need for certainty
Western civilisation remember Socrates - he was conscious that he knew little at all. HE was wise because he was conscious of what he didn't know. He appreciated the limits of human knowledge and his attempts to flourish.
The only wisdom is to know that you don't know anything - submit most cherished beliefs to critique.
This takes us to the heart of what it is to being human -
Glamour figure of 5th Century - Alciabiades preferred the priase of the crowd because they didn't make him doubt himself. Dies in murky circumstances in Asia Minor - an example of a person who gets so very angry and disturbed when made to question themselves.
Rigorous doubt - valuable at a personal level. Artful deployment of questioning needed even whilst being teased apart.
In pursuit of truth - need to find a diplomatic manner in etiquette of doubt.
Careful in questioning too ahrd - gets too close to the bone. Darwin didn't want to pursue doubts in oublic because wife was very evangelical in her faith so he was delivate in his manner so as not to offend.
Intellectual questioning required.
It important to go on thinking and go on linking
Brings ups and downs too.
The last thing it seems is to be sure - perseverance is helpful
Doubt can be seen as negative - but unknowing is perhaps a preferable term
A source of wonder and transcendance is possible with unknowing, doubt, uncertainty
People seem to want a notion of certainty and summing up
God talk is a supremem example of summing up our knowledge with doubt
Big questions remain about meaning
Spiritual writers - Dark night of the soul - St John of the Cross
The journey towards God is a journey of deeper and deeper darkness until walking into dawn but never knowing when that moment is coming.
There is a striping away of the fantasy and projection bringing us closer to what is real - and this is so elusive to put into words.
A commitment to growing
Tensions between science and religion - both deal with doubt in different ways.
Traditions of science have knocked religions off balance.
Newton once proved God's existance - solar system - there is an intellignet wise being up there who is very well versed in mechanics and technology.
Reduced God to a scientific explanation.
Doctrine of creation out of nothing in Greek speaking world - creation told us nothing about God.
Newton's God in the West became the key doctrine of Christian belief.
Different understanding for different elements of life e.g.
Politics and human psychology
moral and religious questions
technological and science
Fundamentalism - scientific knowledge - hard certain evidence that world was created in 6 days
Source of concern within religions generally.
Underlying message of idealogies - reveals fear and anxiety about uncertainty
Dialogue - if only engage in comunication peace would break out - without bludgeoning people into believing a cerain point of view
The only way for peace is to enbrace diversity of opinions
Risk - no longer know how to do doubt
Society believes we need to control doubt
We want certainty and something we can rely on
Confidence through experiences
Humility - important because enables questions to be kept alive
People been led to expect cast iron certainty and thrown when unable to get certainty
Faithful should be encouraged to understand "I do not know" - we should be grateful.
Something may be very unpopular and still be right. Something may be vastly popular and still be wrong.
Church are still looked at to provide answers and a clear view.
But if they gave it, would people see it as right or obvious - no - would want to discuss it. Work it through.
If anything is to make any difference then it has to be worked through and needs time to emerge and see where a person sits.
Doubt in the modern world - doubting aspects of faith - patience and trust and exploration to become more certain.
People necessarily get things wrong so cannot have faith in one person but can have faith in people to keep trying and improve
Thought is a breaker of certainty
Thought I was sitting on a rock but realised sitting on shifting sand - helpful to realise
It is surely good to ask questions and wrestle as it stops rigidity and relevance
Doubt is part of what it is to be human
Honesty about uncertainty is all that is growth and hope for society and individuals.
God cannot be proven like a science -
Everyone needs a community of people with whom to share these difficulties
We are much better placed to flourish if we embrace our uncertainty.
Bliss
x
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