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11. Knowledge Aims / B. Certain Knowledge / 1. Certainty

[possibility or necessity of certainty in knowledge]

34 ideas
How can you be certain about aspects of the world if they aren't constant? [Plato]
Knowledge proceeds from principles, so it is hard to know if we know [Aristotle]
The conclusions of speculative reason about necessities are certain [Aquinas]
Certainty comes from the self-evident, from induction, and from self-awareness [Duns Scotus, by Dumont]
Knowledge is certain cognition of something that is true [William of Ockham]
If we accept mere probabilities as true we undermine our existing knowledge [Descartes]
In pursuing truth, anything less certain than mathematics is a waste of time [Descartes]
In morals Descartes accepts the conventional, but rejects it in epistemology [Roochnik on Descartes]
Descartes tried to model reason on maths instead of 'logos' [Roochnik on Descartes]
Labelling slightly doubtful things as false is irrational [Roochnik on Descartes]
Maybe there is only one certain fact, which is that nothing is certain [Descartes]
Understanding, not the senses, gives certainty [Descartes]
True ideas intrinsically involve the highest degree of certainty [Spinoza]
You only know you are certain of something when you actually are certain of it [Spinoza]
A man who assents without doubt to a falsehood is not certain, but lacks a cause to make him waver [Spinoza]
The greatest certainty is knowing our own ideas, and that two ideas are different [Locke]
General certainty is only found in ideas [Locke]
If it is knowledge, it is certain; if it isn't certain, it isn't knowledge [Locke]
Certainty is where practical doubt is insane, or at least blameworthy [Leibniz]
In absolute knowing, the gap between object and oneself closes, producing certainty [Hegel]
Being certain presumes that there are absolute truths, and means of arriving at them [Nietzsche]
A note for asses: What convinces is not necessarily true - it is merely convincing [Nietzsche]
The quest for certainty aims for peace, and avoidance of the stress of action [Dewey]
We want certainty in order achieve secure results for action [Dewey]
My theory aims at the certitude of mathematical methods [Hilbert]
Knowledge is superior to opinion because it is certain [Ross]
Convictions are failures to study anything thoroughly [Cioran]
Opinions are fine, but having convictions means something has gone wrong [Cioran]
Only tautologies can be certain; other propositions can only be probable [Ayer]
A pupil who lacks confidence may clearly know something but not be certain of it [Dancy,J]
Propositions make error possible, so basic experiential knowledge is impossible [Williams,M]
We can make certain of what we know, so knowing does not entail certainty [Audi,R]
Most people now agree that our reasoning proceeds defeasibly, rather than deductively [Pollock/Cruz]
To believe maximum truths, believe everything; to have infallible beliefs, believe nothing [Pollock/Cruz]