Certainty Vs. Doubt
Does certainty actually provide security, or does it set one for failure? Does doubt cause negativity or does it prepare one for the future? The idea whether certainty or doubt causes the fulfillment of dreams, goals and the future as questioned many. Certainty creates security and assurances, but is anything certain? Nothing in the world is ever certain; one’s world can be flipped upside down in the matters of days, hours, minutes and even a split of a second. Unlike certainty, doubt allows one to know there is a chance that the odds are against one. William Lyon Phelps supports certainty as a factor for success, while Bertrand Russell favors doubt because it creates comfort and prepares one for reality. Using personal knowledge and historical evidence, Bertrand Russell’s idea that doubt creates possibilities and hard work is valid, while William Lyon Phelps claims the opposite, that certainty creates success.
Certainty creates safety, however it also causes one to be unprepared for the future. Many might say that certainty creates confidence, but that is the problem: too much confidence. Overconfidence blinds one from the truth, it tricks one to think that something will certainly happen. Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby was certain that Daisy loved him and would leave her husband, Tom, for him. Gatsby used his certainty as a protector and reassurance. However, when Daisy could not bring herself to tell Tom that she wanted to leave him for Gatsby; Gatsby was surprised and disappointed. He was visionless by certainty; his over-confidence and certainty caused him to self-destruct and lose his identity. He wasn’t prepared to deal with Daisy’s actions; he was certain that she would leave Tom. As Gatsby illust...
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...d motivates one to work harder and harder to beat the chances and be accepted to one’s favored college. Doubt prepares one for the possibility that anything could happen and reality. Hard work, facing the truth and preparedness for the future is created as a result of doubt.
In conclusion, doubt has been questioned whether it helps or harms one and his/her future. Phelps supports the idea that certainty is required for accomplishment, while Russell claims that doubt is a basic necessity for success. Certainty creates overconfidence and a lack of motivation, while doubt results in determination, hard work and prepares one for the truth and future. Without doubt, many like the crew of Apollo 13 and Eliza Doolittle would not be able to accomplish their tasks and dreams. Nothing is ever certain, but doubt is certainly important in fulfilling one’s goals and ambitions.
Gatsby’s quest to acquire Daisy was enlarged by his colossal obsession with the idea of being reunited with her, until the time actually came in which something so simple as a tea date was all he asked for in order to meet her. The purpose of acquiring such wealth and an extravagant home seems so pointless when Gatsby decides to meet with Daisy in Nick’s underwhelming cabin. The extravagancy of his vision deeply contrasts the modesty of the acquisition of his goal in this case. This shows a different side of Gatsby and his visions on what he thought would happen when he reached his goal and what actually occurred. Gatsby starts to panic when his visions do not occur when Nick and Gatsby are sat in Nick’s home, waiting for Daisy, Gatsby argues “Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late...I can’t wait all day” Fitzgerald 85). Gatsby is clearly very antsy and nervous about seeing Daisy again. He was very deeply in love with her and after 5 long years of waiting to see her again and they are finally reunited. All of his plans will be put into action and all of this planning will make him terribly self conscious
The first impression that the reader gets of Gatsby is Jay’s initial explanation of him. Nick describes Gatsby as having an “extraordinary gift for hope” (2) or the ability to always be hopeful for the best outcome. This “ability” directly correlates to Gatsby 's platonic conception of himself and the world. Gatsby’s gift was not that he was able to see the best out of the worst situation but rather assume that the best situation would always occur for him. This “ability” lead Gatsby to take many risks especially the risk of believing that Daisy had only loved him. Gatsby also hopes that Daisy would call him back, leaving the phone lines open for Daisy when swimming in his pool. These acts only further lead to Gatsby becoming enemies with Tom, who gave Gatsby’s life up to Myrtle’s husband whose final act was shooting
Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.
The first concern that develops when views are notably different from individuals is self-doubt. Dr. Dalrymple shows his uncertainty by stating his thoughts upon his evaluations
Descartes goal of doubting things is to overcome skepticism, and come to a truth, thus gaining knowledge that is certain. He believes in order to know anything for certain we have to first doubt the truth of everything. In the first meditation, Descartes uses perceptual illusions, the dream problem and the possibility of a deceiving god to show the uncertainty of many common beliefs, and spark doubt.
...ir problems or uncertainties. When people realize that they are capable of knowing the truth, they are able to overcome the illusions and to help others break their own boundaries.
In the face of Rene Descartes extreme doubt, he found that he hoped to use skepticism to find complete certainty. When doubting something, Descartes would start by asking if it is rationally possible to doubt everything. When proceeding to do this, he will find if there is any undoubtedly truth. Instead of Descartes trying to examine every belief that he holds, he examines the origins of different types of beliefs. In doing this, he rejects any idea that could be mistaken, and will reject it right away.
Descartes’ theory of systematic doubt centered on his belief that individuals cannot trust their perceptions of the external world because sensory stimuli do not necessarily reflect true depictions of the world. Throughout his life, Descartes assumed information being received through his senses to be accurate representations of the external world until he realized that the senses as a source for information can occasionally mislead both himself and all other people. With this knowledge in mind, Descartes knew that an absolute confidence in sensory perception could deceive individuals about the external world and lead to a challenging of beliefs. As an example of this, Descartes considered that, as he wrote this meditation on systematic doubt,
Their judgments were resolved by their emotions and without any coherent reasoning to back it up. This illogical thinking distorted their understanding of reality and led them to eventual failure. For Gatsby, his poisoned dream to relive the past with Daisy Buchanan is seemingly impossible. He is blinded by his obsession with her and because of it; is unable to think straight and see the true reality of it, causing him to eventually lose his life. Prufrocks on the other hand is bounded by fear, not love. His excellent understanding on the concept of life is worthless, as his constant concern of whether or not his actions will succeed and the criticism it will gather disables him from living life to the fullest. If a person’s sense of logic and reason are intertwined with their emotion, their decisions become misguided and will ultimately lead to their
Additionally, and antithetically, consider the example of the student studying for a mathematics test the following morning whose belief is that since he is and has been studying and has a good working knowledge of the subject area, that he will do well on the test and does so the following morning. When compared to another student doing the same but is less prepared and knowledgeable in the area and additionally thinks that he will fail and did, he performed better because of his positive expectation and preparedness. Take a moment to reconsider the inclusion of the idea of preparation in the example. Here, preparation is just as important a factor to consider because it is a variable that can greatly surpass the influence of the self-fulfilling prophecy. The other student who did not prepare well and did not know the material as well would have failed anyway, despite how great of preconceived thoughts he may have had. In this case, because the concept...
... But at the same time, too less skepticism would also cause problems, too less skepticism would mean that a person is optimistic and therefore, will be positive to accept any source of knowledge that comes to him. However, if optimism exceeds the limits, the person may have the tendency to become gullible rather than open-minded. In that case, one has to have some elements of skepticism to certain extent.
Benjamin Franklin said it best “He that can have patience can have what he will.” In the novel The Great Gatsby we were introduced to Jay Gatsby, a young man who always fought for what he wanted. Gatsby was a wealthy young man who hosted extravagant parties with the hope that the girl he loves, Daisy Buchanan, will attend one. He would do anything to gain the social status he thought was necessary to win Daisy’s love. Gatsby’s judgment is clouded by the thought of being with Daisy Buchanan. He’s do anything, at any cost. Daisy was the only thing that mattered to him. Majority of Jay Gatsby’s adult life has been dedicated to fulfilling one of the most outlandish dreams- reliving the past. With patience, determination, secrecy and wealth Jay Gatsby was successful in winning Daisy heart, though it ended in tragedy for him.
In “The principles of human knowledge” George Berkeley responds to the skeptics view about the external world. As we already talked about, skepticism is against the belief that you can know anything because even saying that you “know” something is a big contradiction itsel...
Some of the first major philosophical works that I read were Descartes’ Meditations. In his first Meditation, Descartes writes about the idea of skepticism. This is when I was exposed to the topic of skepticism and I found myself interested in the idea right from the start. Skepticism is one of the most popular topics in epistemology. It is also not a topic that only appeals to philosophers. Skepticism is a topic that draws many people’s attention because it is an idea that rocks the cores of many of the beliefs that are closest to us. After all, some of the concepts that follow from the idea of skepticism are ones such as we might not actually have any knowledge of the world or the world, as we know it, might not actually be real. Skeptical scenarios prove to be both intriguing and intimidating. Responses to skepticism usually turn out to be satisfying in some ways but carry unwanted baggage in other ways. Overall, skepticism is a topic that much thought has been dedicated to and one that has led to many philosophical developments. In this paper, I will touch upon
Descartes' philosophy of doubt separates him from previous thinkers because he wasn't just another skeptic who used doubt to clarify what exists and what does not. Rather, Descartes' method of doubting is his attempt to formulate a foundation for building up knowledge from. Doubt provides the foundation for Descartes further reasoning of what is reality and what is not. Where other philosophers initiated by assuming there is certainty, Descartes build his entire philosophical scope by doubting.