KZ: One of Hume’s rivals, not well disposed to favor Hume noted that despite the uncertainty of life Hume wrote and talked about, Mr. Hume found his way each day from his office to the local pub and then to his own front door. Routine and muscle memory as solutions for uncertainty. The simple things are often quite useful in explaining human actions and ideas.

Me: “The simple things are often quite useful in explaining human actions and ideas.”

Indeed, and in the actual operations that accomplish paradigm changes which are also BOTH human reality AND temporal universe changes in certainty by the way.

Like the change from unconsciousness to self awareness, from nomadic existence to homesteading and urbanization, and from ego centric and earth centric cosmology to naturalism and helio-centrism.

KZ: My point is both more mundane and at the same time infinitely expansive. All certainties and uncertainties are contextual. Some belief or action or experience is certain or uncertain only in relation to some setting. So, neither certainty nor uncertainty are absolute. This allows us to view Hume’s deep uncertainty (skepticism) in the context of such events and beliefs as Enlightenment UK, industrializing UK, decline of religion’s importance UK, capitalism in the UK, perpetual wars with France, etc. But Hume was not skeptical about the local pub or the house where he lived. Under certain conditions these may be skeptical for some people. In short, Hume was skeptical because he was socialized by a skeptical culture surrounded by cultures that taught certainty (Catholicism, French monarchy, Russian monarchy). Hume is like all of us an actor network. So what he may appear to an outside observer should never be taken at face value. Do more digging. Social scientists do excavations. That most economists do not excavate indicates to me they are not social scientists. What are they then?

Me: “My point is both more mundane and at the same time infinitely expansive.”

An excellent duality….to integrate wisely…with the integratively inclusive mental discipline AKA Wisdom….and the various relevant aspects of the pinnacle natural, philosophical and unitary concept of grace….the reality of which is cosmic.

“In short, Hume was skeptical because he was socialized by a skeptical culture surrounded by cultures that taught certainty (Catholicism, French monarchy, Russian monarchy). Hume is like all of us an actor network. So what he may appear to an outside observer should never be taken at face value. Do more digging.”

Another duality. The answer is both “digging” AND integration of the particles of truths in apparently opposing realities in order to discover and perceive the resulting thirdness greater oneness that is the signature of both wisdom and paradigm change.

Also, one needs to realize that rational/logical analysis for all of its virtues has its limitations, particularly when both sides of the hypothesis has long degenerated into regurgitative orthodoxy and obsessive contentiousness…and so be willing to take the creative leap outside of that dualistic mess.

“That most economists do not excavate indicates to me they are not social scientists. What are they then?”

Believers….and defenders of the “faith”.