Great Minds: Richard Feynman - The Uncertainty Of Knowledge

if you expected science to give all the answers to the wonderful questions about what we are where we're going what the meaning versus and so on and I think you could easily become the solution and then look for some mystic answer to these problems you're exploring we're trying to find out as much as we can about the world people say to me are you looking for the ultimate the laws of physics no I'm not I'm just looking to find out more about the world and if it turns out there is a simple ultimate law that explains everything so be it that would be very nice it's covered if it turns out it's like an onion with millions of layers and we're just sick and tired of looking at the layers then that's the way it is but whatever way it comes out its nature is there and she's going to come out the way she is and therefore when we go to investigate it we shouldn't pre decide what it is we're trying to do except to find out more about it and so altogether I can't believe the special stories that have been made up about our relationship to the universe at large because they seem to be too local to provincial the earth he came to the earth one of the aspects of God came to the earth mind you and look at what's out there how can he it isn't in proportion but also another thing Oh has to do with the question of how do you find out if something's true and if you have all these theories of of the different religions have all different theories about the thing then you begin to wonder once you start doubting which I think is to me is a very fundamental part of my soul is to down and to ask when your doubt and ask it gets a little harder to believe I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be long I have approximate answers and possible beliefs and different degrees of certainty about different things but I'm not absolutely sure of anything and the many things I don't know anything about but I don't have to know an answer I don't have I don't feel frightened by not knowing things by being lost in the mysterious universe not having any purpose which is the way it really is as far as I can tell possible it doesn't frighten you

Channel: FFreeThinker

Views: 927,249

Rating: 4.9321356 out of 5

Keywords: great, minds, words, richard, feynman, uncertainty, knowledge, nature, purpose, universe, god, religion, atheists, atheism, science, physicists, quantum, mechanics, electrodynamics, superfluidity, nobel, prize, theoretical, physics, atomic, bomb, space, nano, technology

Id: QkhBcLk_8f0

Length: 2min 50sec (170 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 04 2010

Reddit Comments

[u/corkboy]

That's what so many believers don't get about not believing. It's not, as the believers claim, that atheists "think they know everything". We know we don't know everything, and we also know that nobody else does.

[u/wgpubs]

Was not aware of this video until now, but it expresses the most fundamental reason for which I left Christianity at the beginning of this year ... the required affirmation to believe as true on penalty of eternal punishment that which, at best, cannot be known with certainty to be true, and more likely, is as man made as anything else.

The arrogance to assume such knowledge is, ironically, humility to the believer who is told that the ultimate human virtue is to believe and obey, not think for yourself. That is why Sunday School is about memorizing questions and answers from your catechism rather than the laws of logic and how we can know, and to what degree, what is true and what is not. This is missed by most Christians, I know it was on me, and its something we should constantly be pointing out to all regardless of what they believe.

[u/Rubber_Band_Man69]

Richard Feynman aka the man.