Vancouver Philosophy Dinners Meetup "Embracing uncertainty"

I was at the Meetup yesterday facilitating one of the tables.

We discuss how most of us are "addicted" to certainty and becomes unglued when uncertainty strikes.

There are so many ways this topic can branch into that at first we were talking about how the certainty of our own knowledge blocks us from learning more (we already know!) and from seeing other perspectives.

There were quotes from Bertrand Russell, Erich Fromm to this effect.

It seems we generally want to be able to wrap an issue up as "settled" and put it away so that we can handle something else. 

Leaving issues open is to have loose ends everywhere potentially requiring our attention.  It is unsettling, and it makes it hard for us to proceed with confidence in our actions.

But then the other interesting thing that emerged in the discussion was that we tend to think of uncertainty in the negative. Talking about uncertainty generally suggests that things are taking a turn for the worse, we do not consider a surprisingly good turn of events as an uncertainty.

Is this just our conservative nature?  The evolutionary result of pessimist being more prepared for bad events?

The addiction to certainty is really our fear of the unknown and unpredictable.

The YouTube videos linked in the reference material for the meeting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOEEpOVUtr0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkFRwhJEOos&feature=player_embedded

want us to embrace uncertainty.

It is true that some of us have a tendency to run off with our imagination on how things can get and quickly spiral down to the worst of the worst case scenarios.  The optimist amongst us tends to get push aside as naive.

But as the videos pointed out, crying "unfair", "why is this happening to me", "why are things going according to plan" when uncertainty strikes is obviously not productive.  Best to concentrate on the current situation, take advantage of the unexpected and deal with what needs to be done.

There is also a video of a Buddhist monk on the same topic.  How we should accept what is happening.  Change our plans to suit what just happened rather than trying to force our way through. He even advocated that politicians should not make any promises or should only promise with provisions.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswsVGVdISY&feature=player_embedded

Here, I have to say that the complexity of our society comes into play. It is difficult to do anything substantial in our society without the cooperation of many stake holders who all have certain expectations of outcomes for the project.

It is difficult for a builder encountering foundation soil problems to just say he will adjust the building to suit.  There is the owner who expects the building for a certain use, the bank who expects the building to be worth a certain amount in order to grant the mortgage, all kinds or other sub-contractors who are expecting certain building costs for the original intended building.

In other words, all substantial projects require detail planning to minimize uncertainties and it is always difficult when things do not go according to plan.

Do we dare to imagine a complete cultural shift someday when society in general does not mind government deviating from budgets and promises?  That the same government will exceed our expectations as often as not meeting it?

In other words, it is complicated.

We can all benefit from the positive thinking advocated by the videos, and I wait patiently for the society paradigm shift.

We need more Buddhists among us.