The Certainty and Doubt Relationship

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Relationships Between Doubt and Certainty
The Notion of an Optional Certainty
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Certainty and doubt are important factors in psychology as they are polar opposites that influence one’s life course. Certainty is a system of approaches whereby a person is completely sure of one’s ideas or beliefs. On the other hand, doubt refers to ambiguity about any opinions, ideas, or beliefs. However, there is some relationship between these two notions, for example, the absence of certainty generates doubt, and the absence of doubt promotes certainty. By the examples given in the paper, one can also notice that these factors influence taking decisions affecting the fate of people. The purpose of the work is to analyze the relationship between certainty and doubt from several examples and points of view on these concepts.

The Relationships Between Doubt and Certainty

The notions of doubt and certainty are essential as they influence the fate of people, and decisions made under their influence can lead to significant consequences. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows that invalid certainty may provoke even the death of guiltless people. Thereby, the Reverend Hale, the logical minister, was sure of the truth of the following statement: “The devil is alive in Salem…” (Miller, 1976). Thus, due to external testimonies, Hale formed a certainty, which later turned out to be wrong. However, at the end of the play, the character repents that innocent victims were sentenced, which was the result of false certainty.

The following example clearly shows the relationship between certainty and doubt, namely how one can get rid of any doubt and give rise to false certainty. Thus, in The Crucible, Cheever had doubts about the Elizabeth’s being the witch, however, after seeing the “evidence”, doubt was transformed into certainty (Miller, 1976). It confirms the close relationship between certainty and doubt, namely that the absence of one gives rise to the other. Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s play, the doubt vanished because of the controversial evidence, and the certainty emerged instead. However, this certainty was erroneous and has led to negative consequences for innocent people. It formulates the following feature of doubt and certainty, namely their relativity.

Nowadays, there are many things which one can be sure of from any point of view. Thus, people who have strict certainty are less likely to consider alternative points of view or analyze them (Schaefer, 2018). It constitutes an essential feature of doubt and certainty, namely their relativity. It is formulated by the fact that a person who has certainty about any fact sees it differently than one without certainty. In other words, an individual who believes in a fact because of one’s own point of view may not notice the facts that indicate an alternative point of view. Accordingly, a person without certainty spots this fact with some aspects that denote a disjunctive. Thereby, certainty, in some cases, makes an individual blind, moreover, different people can observe distinct sides of the fact.

This principle, similarly, may be applied to the notion of a doubt, namely its relativity from the points of view of different people. For example, one person doubts a certain fact, and from one’s point of view, the fact does not have any confirmation of its truth. The other person, who has no doubt about the fact, sees it with clear signs of its verity. Thus, one can notice that doubt and certainty are relative factors that may look different for different people. In addition, sometimes certainty can dazzle one and prevent people from seeing facts that point to untruths or alternatives.

The Notion of an “Optional Certainty”

Besides, there is a notion of an “optional certainty”, which may be applied to most of the facts about the world. For example, the case that the world is more than two minutes old (O’Hara, 2018). Everyone knows that the world was created several billion years ago, however, the evidence confirming this fact is the optimal truth. In other words, one knows this information from such sources as scientific films, lectures, scientists’ testimonies, etc. However, these testimonies are not solid enough for one to claim that they are 100 percent true. On the one hand, one is sure that the world is more than two minutes old, and on the other hand, the facts are not indisputable. In this regard, this fact is the “optional certainty”, in other words, one is sure about the fact, however, not completely.

This principle also shows the relationship between doubt and certainty. Thus, in a fact in which one is sure, there is a share of doubts, in other words, there always is a share of doubt in certainty. This shows the inseparability of these concepts and the principle of their interaction. Moreover, this model can be applied to many facts about our lives, if not to all. After all, nowadays, science has advanced far enough to explain many things on the one hand, but on the other hand, to question their true nature.

Conclusion

To conclude, the concepts of certainty and doubt are close and intertwined in many things in one’s life. Further, as one remarked in the example of the play The Crucible, the wrong certainty can lead to irreparable consequences. Furthermore, it was found that according to the “optional certainty” model, doubt is part of the certainty and vice versa. Finally, analyzing all of the above, one established the relationship between these two notions.

References

Miller, A. (1976). The Crucible. Penguin Publishing Group.

O’Hara, N. (2018). Moral certainty and the foundations of morality. Springer.

Schaefer, M. A. (2018). The certainty of uncertainty: the way of inescapable doubt and its virtue. Wipf and Stock Publishers.

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The Certainty and Doubt Relationship

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