What are the questions, what is the framework we can use to understand uncertainty?
Dear Noeline,
Not all kinds of uncertainty need to be understood. The future just is uncertain, and we make predictions based on existing scientific or humane knowledge. We could call that empirical uncertainty. However, uncertainty relating to moral, religious and aesthetic questions is different. One kind of uncertainty these questions exhibit is philosophical – ‘What is the purpose of human life?’ is essentially debatable. The framework for understanding philosophical uncertainty involves the methods of philosophy – analysis, argument and interpretation.
Best wishes, Andy Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton
Durham University, UK
Website
Iris Murdoch represents some neglected paths in contemporary philosophy. In aesthetics, her affiliation to Plato is significant - her attitude to Kant is interesting, and though I would question its correctness, it produces some interesting insights into the value of art, and in particular the contrast between art for art, and art for life's sake.
