Wednesday, August 27, 1952
henry bugbee reemphasizes that insight comes when we least expect it (insight cannot be predetermined. The right response to something like this is just to let it Flow. If we let it flow, one after the other, they will reveal themselves. This process, however, isn’t Analytic philosophy. This is a release of “truth” that we have within us. Since philosophical truth comes from the depth, it is expected that it isn’t clear and it doesn’t know where it is going.
Therefore, certainty to truth claims shouldn’t be what we must aspire to, but “certainty of action.” If an action is sound, we may be certain of it. And we may not articulate the reason for an action clearly. We simply do it. Here, certainty is akin to faith and hope.
I do not know if I am ready to agree with Bugbee here, particularly with the last part. But I understand what he is saying. If certainty is tied to action, it is impossible to be totally certain about the repercussions of action. We learn to live while we are living. We learn as we go. The questions that make us “uncertain” are only answered when we take action. Here, certainty is achieving decisiveness even when one is unsure. Certainty is faith.
References
Bugbee, H. (1999). The Inward Morning: A Philosophical Exploration in Journal Form. The University of Georgia Press.