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madsbuch

The title is about certainty and not truth.

> Who Lusts for Certainty Lusts for Lies

I think this is one of the one-liners that sound good, but is bogus at closer inspection.

That articles talks about history. In that context it might make sense as it is hard to say something with certainty.

But in every speech I can say things with certainty without lying.

If we furthermore drag the word certainty out of a philosophers grip and apply a layman meaning to it, then many things are certain as the word can also mean commitment.

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In every speech you can say some things with certainty without lying.

But I think the point of the saying is in the other direction. If you are listening to a speech, the things that the speaker can say with certainty may not be the ones where you want certainty. And if you demand certainty on those things, you will find those who will give it to you. But the certainty itself is a lie - that's why the speaker can't (honestly) say those things with certainty.

What is the optimum political program for the United States? There are plenty of people willing tell you with (apparent) certainty what the answer is. The truth is that nobody knows with certainty, and so the answers that sound certain are lies. The actual program may be correct - may be - but the certainty itself is a lie.

This is often true in linguistics, and history, and politics, and economics. Don't demand certainty where there is none.

I don't think it's bogus.

I've seen people who strongly crave for (a feeling of) certainty prefer simplified categorizations and false absolutes to complexity that doesn't offer absolute certainty and discrete clarity.

Similarly, some things aren't readily quantifiable, and in some cases any quantification might be a great oversimplification at best. In those cases wanting a quantified and measurable answer instead of a more complex answer with less (of a feeling of) certainty can amount to wanting a lie. Or at least to wanting an answer that feels a lot more certain and true than it actually is.

I think that's what the post is about.

Of course the title isn't absolutely true either. Of course you can say and find things that are true and (to a good approximation) certain. But that's not really what the post or its title are trying to say.

Who demands certainty demands bullshit would be more accurate.

There's an entire field of study dedicated to these puzzles: epistemology.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/certainty/

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