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Accepted Paper:
The predictability manace and the power of the unforeseen
Klavs Sedlenieks
(Riga Stradins University)
I argue that while unpredictability is often seen as a problem, it is in fact a precondition of life and is fundamental for some morally salient processes. The presentation does not introduce new ethographic data, opting instead to traverse the terrain of existing knowledge
Paper Abstract:
I propose a contemplation upon the some unforeseen aspects of unpredictability and uncertainty. Traditionally perceived as adversities necessitating resolution, I posit an alternative perspective. I argue, that when it comes to life (in general or specifically human life), one can live without certainty (we all do), but we cannot live without uncertainty. Paradoxically, it is in the embrace of uncertainty that life's essential processes find manifestation. Embarking from this ontological premise, I undertake a reexamination of classical anthropological themes, contending that while human proclivities incline towards certitude and recoil from instances of profound uncertainty, domains of profound moral significance—such as belief, friendship, gift, and hope—reside within and are contingent upon the ambience of uncertainty. This exposition refrains from the introduction of novel ethnographic data, opting instead to traverse the well-trodden terrain of existing knowledge, albeit with a view to unravel the unforeseen latent within the ostensibly predictable (or rather, predictability in reverse).