Absolute Certainty versus Wonder

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

• Source: Atlas/Maps/DLQ 10 MOC
• Keywords: Cards/permanent notes
  • #philosophy
• Relevant Notes:
  • Module 1A
    • Cards/Problem versus Mystery: we can approach mysteries either through absolute certainty or wonder
    • Cards/Order and Chaos
    • Cards/Perfectionism
    • Cards/Desire
  • Module 1B
    • Cards/The First Principle and Foundation
    • Cards/Discernment:
    • Cards/Desolation:
    • Cards/Consolation:
  • Module 2
    • Cards/Tangibles: wholely defining ourselves according to our tangibles comes from a reductionist mindset.
    • Cards/The Divided Life: Living with absolute certainty can lead one to living The Divided Life due to a desire for control.
    • Cards/Brokenness: Absolute certainty makes us act on our brokenness with bitterness, while wonder makes us act on our brokenness with compassion.
    • Cards/The False Self: A reductionist mindset can only see False Selves, while a sense of wonder can get us in touch with our True Selves.
    • Cards/Self-rejection: When we reject ourselves, we resort to reductionism. A sense of wonder is needed in order to accept ourselves.

• Absolute Certainty: a.k.a. resorting to Cards/Reductionism: looking at a complex world from a simplistic perspective
  • In reality, we always operate with ==limited certainty==; absolute certainty does NOT exist. ^b03b53
    • We are not capable of fitting the largeness/complexity of this world in our minds
    • Reductionist thinking dilutes meaning
  • Two types of Cards/Reductionism: ^0eb33d
    • Fundamentalism: A firm and rigid adherence to a fundamental set of beliefs and doctrines.
      • E.G. Religious circles — legalistic, laws are laws “Adam & Eve, not Adam & Steve”
      • Less about thinking, more about ==following==
    • Relativism: Truth is ultimately dependent on the individual or a group. Objective truth does not exist.
      • The other extreme; the forwarding of so many different “truths” — losing objective truths and ==losing a shared sense of reality==
      • Also does not require thinking
  • Either way, both of these reveal a proclivity towards control. Thus, absolute certainty ==focuses on control==.
    • It leads us to closse ourselves off to the possibilities of other things.
• Wonder: the disposition of a learner.
  • It’s constantly revisiting the ordinary, being able to see it from fresh eyes and different perspectives.
  • It’s undergirded by a disposition of humility. It’s about ==knowing who you are== right now — seeing the truth of who you are, rather than pulling yourself down.
    • The root word of humility , humus , means soil. A seedling in soil is vulnerable, exposed to the elements and vermin — yet this is also where it grows. Cards/Growth happens in vulnerability. ^cbbc87
    • This is one way you can discern a life question that will result in change or status quo — will you grow? ^fc16e2
  • You can only get to know more about a mystery (See Cards/Problem versus Mystery) when you commit to it with wonder. ^952b2f
    • Cards/We grow when we let go.

Mysteries are approached with a sense of wonder. And this wonder is undergirded by a disposition of humility.

See Cards/Problem versus Mystery

We need to stop black-and-white thinking. While there is nothing wrong with simplifying a complex world, there is such a thing as oversimplification.