Real knowledge rests on active doubt rather than certainty

Evidence

Knowledge does not demand certainty; it demands doubt. Even when we are persuaded that, all things considered, the available evidence and argument point in a certain direction, even after we have resolved to go in that direction, we should be alive to the possibility that in spite of our best effort to get it right, we got it wrong. Our assurance of being right relies on doubt and an iterative process of questioning. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 272

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines genuine skepticism in contrast to conspiracists’ claimed skepticism.
• XREF: connects to: Epistemic assurance rests on doubt, not certainty — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 272; Skepticism about certainty does not justify refusing to act on evidence — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age: How False…, 101; Truth emerges only after doubt makes information improbable — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 605 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Epistemic assurance rests on doubt, not certainty #corroborates (0.98) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 272
• Skepticism about certainty does not justify refusing to act on evidence #qualifies (0.85) — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age, 101
• Genuine belief change is possible and rare, centered on an initial crack of doubt #exemplifies (0.80) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 214
• Theoretical doubts about objective truth need not override practical reliance on evidence #qualifies (0.80) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 50
• Truth emerges only after doubt makes information improbable #corroborates (0.75) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 605