To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Absolute certainty requires either total knowledge or total ignorance.
- In plain terms
- You need to know everything or nothing to be sure.
- What can you take from it?
- Certainty is rare in complex matters.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What can you know with certainty?
- How much evidence is enough?
Another view
It dismisses practical confidence based on partial evidence.
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