Uncertainty could be associated with wisdom, enterprise, and discovery.
In ordinary speech, however, it has mostly negative connotations. There
is "fear of the unknown" and "ignorance is bliss;" there are maxims to
the effect that "what you don't know doesn't hurt you" (or: "bother
you") in several languages. This volume suggests that we need be
bothered by the excessive confidence with which scientists, particularly
social scientists, present some of their conclusions and overstate their
range of application. Otherwise many of the questions that should be
raised about all the major uncertainties attending a particular issue
routinely may continue to be thwarted or suppressed. Down playing
uncertainty does not lead to more responsible or surer action, it
sidetracks research agendas, and leaves the decision makers exposed to
nasty surprise. This volume demonstrates that recognizing the many forms
of uncertainty that enter into the development of any particular subject
matter is a precondition for more responsible choice and deeper
knowledge. Our purpose is to contribute to a broader appreciation of
uncertainty than regularly accorded in any of the numerous disciplines
represented here. The seventeenth-century French philosopher Descartes,
quoted in this volume, wrote that "whoever is searching after truth
must, once in his life, doubt all things; insofar as this is possible. "
White areas left on maps of the world in past centuries were a much more
productive challenge than marking the end of the known world with the
pillars of Hercules.
