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In this note, a map is not what a cartographer creates, it is the 'world model' that exists in the mind of each of us. We all have such a model, even if we don't see it as a distinct entity. Your map encapsulates your understanding of the world, and the way it works.
As Magritte told us in his painting, "ceci n'est pas une pipe" - this isn't a pipe (it's a picture of a pipe). Not only does a real pipe differ from the label "pipe" that we attach to it, but it also differs from the abstract concept of a pipe that we hold in our heads. The pipe concept is part of our map, our world model, and is therefore not a real pipe, as Magritte reminds us.
Distinguishing between the map and the territory (i.e. between our world models and the real world) is quite important if we want to have a clear picture of the world, ourselves, and how we relate to one another.
Within your map, certainty is possible. The map is in your mind, after all; you can examine its every aspect, and confirm or deny any query about it with confidence.
In the real world (which we see only via our fallible perceptions), there is no certainty for a human. There is not even the possibility of certainty.
When we are thinking, speaking or debating philosophy, we should know whether the topic of discussion is map-based or territory-based.
As humans, it seems we have a natural characteristic to wonder if our maps exactly replicate the territory they represent. This can lead to apparently serious problems, as such questions are unanswerable.
For example, a popular question is: Does God exist? I.e. does the being God, who is a primary character in my 'religion' map, actually exist in the real world out there? Like everything else about the real word, this is unknown and unknowable. There may be a God out there, and there may not. We have no proof there is, and no proof there isn't. There is no definite answer, nor will there ever be.
Instead of asking "does God exist?". ask instead "Does my 'religion' map help me to 'navigate' the real world?" This is the question you meant to ask, if only you'd thought about it a little more, and this question can be answered usefully. Hooray! :-)
Pattern-chaser
"Who cares, wins"
"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." -- Hans Hoffmann
"Simplicity carried to the extreme becomes elegance." -- Jon Franklin
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -- Leonardo da Vinci
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts." - William Strunk, Jr. (author of Elements of Style)
Some simplicity links:
Inf@Vis!
Elegance, Simplicity...
Design for Learning
Pattern-chaser
"Who cares, wins"
Important Note: when I use the term 'certainty', I mean absolute 100% no-possibility-of-being-wrong certain. Nothing less.
What we might call 'practical certainty', meaning we are close enough for everyday purposes, is a sensible and rational concept, but should not be confused with 'certainty' as I am using it here. OK? ;-)
For practical purposes, no human can be certain of anything in the real world. Within your own mind, you can be 'certain' that you are thinking something, or that you believe something, and so on. But everything you know about the 'real world' comes via your perceptions. Wonderful though they are, we know from long experience that human perception is far from infallible. Worse, when we *are* wrong, we can't tell. To us, the wrong perception seems as accurate as the correct one.
So absolute certainty is denied to us. Where does that leave us? Exactly where we were. This has always been the case. The lack of certainty doesn't drag us into a quagmire of chaos!
We can still be very very sure of things, more than sure enough for everyday purposes. I would be surprised if I let go of my tea-cup and it didn't drop to the floor. I expect you would too. ;-) And yet it isn't certain. Is this a problem? No. The likelihood of my tea-cup floating where I let go of it, and not falling to the floor is pretty small. Remember: just because something is not-certainly-true, this does NOT mean it's false! [See Binary Logic] It might be 99.999999999999999% likely and still not be certain.
So why does certainty matter, if 'practical certainty' continues to work for us as it always has (i.e. most of the time)? There are a number of reasons, but perhaps the most important is attitude:
In a world where nothing is certain, everything is possible (however unlikely it may be)! This attitude puts us in the correct frame of mind to recognise something new. Think about it the other way around: if you are CERTAIN that gravity will cause my cup to fall, you won't even look for it not happening. You'd be wasting your time, wouldn't you, when you know beyond all doubt that it can't happen? ;-)
Feynman summed it up beautifully, as ever: "In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar." If you're unready, or even unable, to recognise something new, you'll miss it, and the discovery will pass you by. You may even see it, and convince yourself that you perceived wrongly; it couldn't've happened, so it didn't happen!
Certainty: an intellectual curiosity (for a human).
Pattern-chaser
"Who cares, wins"
No silver crescent
Thorn disturbs the spring starlight.
The Moon's dark face, full.
A list of books, references or heuristics I have found useful:
- Metaphors we live by by Lakoff and Johnson
- Philosophy in the flesh by Lakoff and Johnson
- Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
- Lila- an enquiry into morals by Robert M. Pirsig
- Hare brain, tortoise mind by Guy Claxton
- Occam's Razor
- Richard Feynman's outpourings.
- The Freedom From Faith Foundation (an informal faith-based discussion forum hosted on the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy website, maintained by the BBC).
- E-prime - using English without any part of the verb "to be". Why would you want to do this? Check it out!
- keeping careful note of what is 'map' and what is 'territory'.
Pattern-chaser
"Who cares, wins"
Philosophy is weird. My wife says so. And yet it forms a part of my life that I could no more give up than I could breathing. I am trapped by my interest. Interest in such things as:
- (human) perception and subjectivity
- certainty, objectivity and absolutes
- conscious and unconscious minds
- Gods, religion and belief
I registered with BlogEasy to establish somewhere I could write about these things. And this is the first entry. Hooray!, I've started at last.
Over the last fifty years, my opinions on matters philosophical have gradually built up, to the point where it's begininng to look as though I may have a consistent and more or less complete philosophy. We'll see.
The next few entries will explore the above list. If you have comments, please leave them. Nice to meet you!
Pattern-chaser
"Who cares, wins"
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