Certainty


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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Certainty

 

a term used in probability theory, logic, epistemology, and law (theory of legal proof). In philosophical and logical-methodological investigations it is most frequently used to characterize knowledge that is valid, conclusive, or indisputable and also as a synonym for truth. In experimental natural science the term “certainty” frequently designates events and judgments that are regarded as empirically confirmed by special experiments or, more broadly, by the social and productive practice of men.

The term acquires a somewhat specialized meaning in probability theory. In so-called subjective, or personal, probability, certainty is most frequently interpreted as a concept reflecting the subject’s confidence in the correctness of his evaluation of the probability that a particular event will occur. From this point of view certainty also expresses the extent of a given individual’s knowledge about the conditions and factors contributing to or counteracting the occurrence of events. In this sense, with the exception of extremely idealized or oversimplified cases, certainty includes a considerable element of uncertainty, inasmuch as exhaustive knowledge about such conditions and factors is practically unobtainable.

A. I. RAKITOV

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in classic literature ?
Again, self-evidence must not be the same thing as the absence of doubt or the presence of complete certainty. If we are completely certain of a proposition, we do not seek a ground to support our belief.
Our subjective certainty is usually a result of habit, and may lead us astray in circumstances which are unusual in ways of which we are unaware.
Nevertheless, it is perhaps true that judgments having a high degree of subjective certainty are more apt to be true than other judgments.
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John said, it was love that made her understand this, for she had never felt this independence, this calm, and this certainty until she fell in love with him, and perhaps this too was love.
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"We'll begin with the certainty, as your ladyship is so good as to leave it to me.
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Mortgage borrowers who want certainty about the rate they will pay beyond the next decade are being offered the option to lock into deals lasting for 15 years.
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There is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be confirmed with greater certainty.
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Emerson served as the main automation contractor (MAC) for the megaproject, with the company's Project Certainty approach supporting a reduction of global automation engineering complexity, which contributed to production starting more than four months ahead of schedule.
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Folic acid correlated with a reduced stroke risk (low certainty evidence; RR, 0.80), while an increased risk for stroke was seen with calcium plus vitamin D (moderate certainty evidence; RR, 1.17).
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Recovering lost profits generally requires the plaintiff to successfully address the following legal rules: the proximate cause rule, the reasonable certainty rule, and the foreseeability rule.
The legal principles in lost profits cases, Part 2
THE Prime Minister's Brexit agreement is a "bad deal" for Wales, "failing to give Welsh people the certainty needed to safeguard jobs and livelihoods", the shadow Welsh secretary has argued.
Prime Minister's Brexit a 'bad deal for Wales' - Rees

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