Under modernity no knowledge is certain, in any science.

Evidence

No knowledge under conditions of modernity is knowledge in the “old” sense, where “to know” is to be certain. This applies equally to the natural and the social sciences. In the case of social science, however, there are further considerations involved. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 102

Categorization

• XREF: Stevens treats Darlington as dispensing certain knowledge; this claim shows no such certainty can exist under modernity, so his deference was always cognitive fantasy. — connects to: Knowledge is paradigmatic and never exists as bare data — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 744; Before modern science, the world was unfathomable and inexplicable, but science has shown that nature is logical and comprehensible. — Mysteries Are to Be Embraced, But Also to Be Solved
• ADDENDUM: Relevant to ‘On Sacrifice’: high-status figures gain deference by embodying certitude, but Giddens shows the certitude is illusory—deference to sacral kingship and to expert systems alike rests on ungrounded trust.

Related

• Modernity institutionalises doubt, making all knowledge claims inherently circular (similarity 0.83)
• Modernity’s reflexivity subverts reason’s claim to certitude. (similarity 0.81)
• Modern knowledge is more opaque to individuals than pre-modern local knowledge was (similarity 0.81)
• Trust is required only amid ignorance, which always grounds scepticism as well. (similarity 0.81)
• The feeling that systematic knowledge is impossible stems from uncontrollable modern events, not epistemology (similarity 0.81)
• Science substitutes intersubjective certainty for the older evidence of familiarity (similarity 0.80)
• Knowledge of the social world makes that world inherently unstable (similarity 0.80)
• Social science is more deeply implicated in modernity than natural science. (similarity 0.80)
• Modernity’s core is an irreducible enigma that cannot be overcome (similarity 0.79)
• New social knowledge alters the social world rather than merely describing it (similarity 0.79)
• Social science knowledge changes the social world it studies. (similarity 0.79)
• Knowledge of social life does not produce greater control over fate (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Knowledge is paradigmatic and never exists as bare data #corroborates (0.60) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 744