2023-01-04 The Suffering of Cert

What is certainty? And how could certainty possibly cause insanity?

The question of certainty may sound straightforward. Most modern dictionaries point to a “firm conviction that something is true” or the “quality of being reliably true.” But from a philosophical perspective (not my area of expertise), certainty becomes more complicated (check out Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy take on certainty for a deeper dive).

What is the goal or project of wisdom traditions?

Simply put, most traditions focus on living well or becoming wiser (that’s why they are called wisdom traditions). Yes, they may have slightly different approaches, but they all aim to reduce suffering and therefore increase tranquility.

If peace is the project across traditions. Then the question is, how does certainty lead to suffering (or insanity at the extreme)? One way is that “certainty” goes against how the world works. As Seneca put it, “the whole future lies in uncertainty.”

Striving for certainty in an uncertain world is similar to swimming against the current in a river (at least in my mind). At some point, you are going to tire out (or potentially go insane).

Or, as Albert Einstein put it, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

There are many things that we should have a sense of certainty about. For example, if we were to walk in the rain without an umbrella, we will naturally get wet. We all know this to be true, and when it happens, we are rarely upset by it.