Yousif Saleh Essays (972 words) - Epistemology, Skepticism, Doubt

Yousif Saleh Philyaw, 3rd AP Lang 11/29/15 Relationship between Certainty and Doubt The generic notion that miracles can be made with certainty seems unrealistic. This belief claims that anything can be achieved with the impossible being surpassed. However, there are set boundaries and limits that restrict a person from accomplishing "virtually anything" as Phelps asserts. Rarely can someone be certain about an issue because there are many factors that cause doubt. Certainty can create many complications in one's mindset, making them oblivious to other options. It is impractical to obtain "absolute certainty" as doubt plays a necessary role to success. Doubt is crucial to the attainment of success as it makes one open-minded and causes them to consider other opportunities and view things in different perspectives. Both certainty and doubt are needed to be successful. If either one is more prevalent than the other, then it breaks the balance between them and results in imminent failure. The dominance of doubt renders a person from achieving anything. With both notion s intact, certainty can motivate someone to accomplish their desires and dreams, while doubt can force someone to realize the roadblocks standing in the way, and thus working out ways to solve the issues. When used accordingly then can someone achieve "virtually anything" as Phelps says. As stated in the previous paragraph, without the equality of both perspectives it is nearly impossible to obtain success. When certainty triumphs over doubt, it causes someone to be blinded by their belief. This blindness gives rise to inevitable failure because only the outcome is contemplated. For example, a stockowner should never place all his/her investments into one business because once the business shuts down, it leads to either bankruptcy or the loss of money. It's the same concept of putting all your eggs into one basket, if anything happens to the basket, you lose your eggs in a swift and painful moment. The certainty that a business will succeed is being idealistic because there might be situations that can lead businesses to shut down, for example the weather. A hurricane can without a doubt destroy a business. With doubt, comes insurance, which is always the best way to prepare for the worst. Getting back to the example with the stockowner, if the stockowner has the sam e amount of doubt as certainty, then he/she will invest in many business. Doubt will make the stockowner hesitate to fully trust one business and will prompt him/her to consider more options. Also, Phelps perspective of how anything is possible seems too good to be true. Obviously, there are factors that prevent the impossible. Phelps uses "absolute certainty" lightly because there is no way someone can have absolute certainty. Nothing in this world is perfect and there are many flaws in everything that exists in the world. One example of this is a proposal, no man is certain that the woman he wants to marry, will say yes. This includes couples who are head over heels, and those that have been in the relationship in a long time. They have already developed a committed relationship, yet there will always be nerves leading up to the proposal, which is universally common. Phelps affirms that one can "accomplish virtually anything" as if nothing in the world is impossible. Impossible fe ats have been accomplished, but only because doubt made the entity strive for perfection. The same implications apply for doubt, the dominance of doubt over certainty will cause hesitation that will prevent anything from getting done. Doubting oneself isn't a positive measure as it generates cowardness and fearfulness. With these thoughts it is nearly hopeless to be motivated. An example of this type of hopelessness, is someone who is unhappy because he/she is stuck at a dead end job and continues to work there because they feel as though they are not qualified for any other job. They make excuses to need apply to other jobs, because in their minds, they think that they will never obtain another job. There must be certainty to achieve one's goals and dreams to set the quality between them. With a little bit of certainty, someone can have hope. The equilibrium of these two ideals are necessary for success in life.