CERTITUDE as a state of mind: adherence, without fear of error, to a truth.
(yes, we are starting in an odd manner--with scepticism...in order to lay down first what we wish to "solve"-- don't give up trying to understand, I promise the Truth will be explained. But first...)
from chapter 161 of "Theories of Knowledge" by Reginald F. O'Neill, sj.
Pyrrho's Doctrine: Diogenes Laertius says in his famous "Lives"* that Pyrrho adopted:
a most noble philosophy . . . taking the form of agnosticism and
suspension of judgment. He denied that anything was honorable
or dishonorable, just or unjust. And so, universally, he held that
there is nothing really existent, but custom and convention govern
human action; for no single thing is in itself any more this than that
. . . . but Aenesidemus says that it was only his philosophy that
was based upon suspension of judgment, and that he did not lack
foresight in his everyday acts. He lived to be nearly ninety.
The doctrine touched upon here is that of Universal Scepticism which teaches that the human mind can never attain to any truth with certitude. Hence, the proper attitude for which one should strive is a total suspension of judgment. The state of mind, then, for which we are urged to strive, is one of doubt.
Although this may sound paradoxical, it does seem that we must admit that the reason for the existence of this doctrine of Universal Scepticism is to be found precisely in the Sceptic's profound respect for truth. they look on truth as so important and valuable that they are unwilling to accept lightly anything which is offered by others or experienced by themselves.
Many of them were struck by the prevalence of error in human knowledge, by the number of positions once dogmatically proposed and later disproved, and by men's readiness to accept as true anything that attracts them. Added to all that is the necessity man is under to establish the reliability of the mind by the use of the mind itself, which seemed to them to be begging the question. Moreover, even those who defend the power of the human mind are forced to admit that human knowledge is only partial, and that it only gradually comes to any knowledge of things.
From these and similar considerations they conclude that one can never rest secure in the possession of any truth at all, and that the proper attitude is a total suspension of judgment and an admission of doubt as the most balanced state of mind.
* Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers
1 - Prentice-Hall, Engle-wood Cliffs, NJ: 1960
The Four Kinds of Certitude
1. Purely Subjective Certitude:
is an assent (or dissent) which is indeed firm, but really should not be firm; as when the ancients firmly believed that the earth was flat.
[certitude, being a state of mind, is necessarily subjective. But this certitude is called purely subjective, because it does not rest on anything objective.]
2. Practical Certitude:
is an assent (or dissent) which is firm merely for practical reasons, because otherwise life would be impossible. Thus we are practically certain that the cook will not poison the soup, that the brakes will halt the car.
3. Respective Certitude:
is an assent (or dissent) based on reasons (motives) which are sufficient for certain minds, but not for all. Thus the child is convinced when mother says so.
4. FORMAL CERTITUDE:
is a firm assent (or dissent) which is necessarily true and known to be true; as when we judge that 2 x 2 = 4. Not only is our assent firm, but reality corresponds necessarily to it; moreover we are aware of this conformity between mind and reality.
Formal certitude is the ideal state of mind. Formal certitude is often called 'objective', because it corresponds with objective reality and because it rests on objective grounds.