So true! One of the first things you learn in philosophy about Socrates is his assertion that he knew nothing. Hence his annoying questions to everyone. I agree with Socrates. We have a desire for certainty, but somewhere deep down in our core, we know we can never truly be certain of anything. That terrifies us.

All knowledge is insecure, no matter the source. Some folks really don’t like that. Yet if we are being honest with ourselves, we must accept that insecurity. Instead most folks lie to themselves to cope with that insecurity.

To me, wisdom is knowing what you don’t know, and accepting the limitations of knowledge. This fosters trust in the unknown, trust in others.

I believe there are two kinds of faith. One is based on the fear of just how truly insecure our so-called knowledge is. This one is based on a lie, to trick ourselves into being comfortable in our “knowledge”. The other is based on trust and acceptance of not-knowing. I find this faith to be more open and tolerant, because it honestly accepts the known and unknown for what they truly are.