What Does certainty Mean
The first thing we are going to do is determine that the term certainty comes from Latin. Thus, when we proceed to study it in depth, we find that its etymological origin is found in the sum of two clearly differentiated Latin parts: the adjective certus , which can be translated as "precise or certain"; and the suffix - eza , which is equivalent to "quality of certain".
The certainty is the knowledge clear and sure of something . Whoever has a certainty is convinced that he knows something without the possibility of being wrong, although certainty does not imply truth or accuracy. This means that a person can affirm that he has a certainty and, nevertheless, the information that he handles is false or erroneous.
For example: “I can't give you the certainty, but I think that next month we will be able to buy the new car” , “Carla gave me the certainty that tomorrow she will bring the money” , “I am certain that I am not making a mistake” .
It can be said that certainty is the possession of a truth that corresponds to perfect knowledge. The awareness of a certainty allows to affirm this knowledge without fear of doubt and with full confidence in the validity of the information.
The certainty, therefore, is based on evidence , or what the subject takes as irrefutable evidence. The evident of the knowledge makes possible the affirmation and the possession of the truth.
Throughout history there are many scholars, philosophers and thinkers in general who have addressed the certainty itself and also its similarity or its differentiation with respect to what would be opinion. Among those are, for example, classics of Greek philosophy such as Aristotle and Plato who based their ideas on pillars such as knowledge, understanding, experience and the senses.
Of course, the role played by the Frenchman René Descartes, the father of modern philosophy, should not be overlooked in the analysis of the term at hand. In his case, he turned the ideas that had been conceived in this regard up to now and made it clear that certainty was not based on knowledge, as had been explained, but rather on one's conscience. that a specific fact is true.
Kant, Russell, Karl Kopper or Gödel were other authors who also thoroughly analyzed the veracity, bringing with it the opposition of all kinds of theories about the essence, the pillars and the results that it brings.
The concept contrary to certainty is ignorance : if you don't know something, you can't have any certainty. The average degree of knowledge between certainty and ignorance is doubt (the subject believes that knowledge can be true but is not in a position to affirm it).
Doubt, therefore, occurs when there is insufficient knowledge to be confident about its certainty. Knowledge, in short, appears as imperfect and the person does not have absolute confidence in the truth of his propositions.