Q&A: Faith / Belief
Faith / Belief
Question
Hello Rabbi,
This is a follow-up to a question I asked by email.
A. Regarding the laws of nature: I did not understand why the answer to the question “What will happen to the pen when we let go of it?” (it will fall onto the table) is not certain.
B. I understand that in matters of faith / belief there is not the same kind of certainty as in the laws of nature, but if there is a certain pattern in the way the world is run (providence), is it not possible to claim something on this subject that goes beyond mere probability?
Answer
What is there to understand here? Nothing in the world is really certain. It is always possible that you are mistaken. As stated, you do not have to go around with a conscious feeling of uncertainty, but factually that is the situation.
You can claim anything, so long as there is some basis for the claim. For this, I do not see any real basis.
Discussion on Answer
Of course there are different levels of certainty. I do not have a criterion.
I thought about this a bit more, and I understand that one cannot speak of logical certainty for any claim, but that is not what I meant. After saying that nothing is certain, it is still possible to distinguish between different kinds of factual claims. The world has behaved in a certain way from time immemorial, such as the sunrise and gravity and so on, and my question is whether there is a special definition for these factual claims—something between probability and certainty. In my humble opinion, one can also speak in that direction in other areas, such as the continued existence of the Jewish people, even though it is not the same kind of claim and not the same level of certainty.