David Peat

xiv PrefaceWhile the twentieth century began with confident certainty itended in unsettling uncertainty. Never again will we have the samedegree of pride in our knowledge. In our infatuation with science andtechnology we overestimated our ability to manipulate and control theworld around us. We forgot the power of the mind’s irrational impulses.We were too proud in our intellectual achievements, too confidentin our abilities, too convinced that humans would stride acrossthe world like gods.Today we are wiser and more cautious. We are suspicious of greatplans and global promises. We view with caution the sweeping proposalsof experts and politicians. We savor unbounded optimism with agenerous pinch of salt.Above all we want a better world for ourselves, our children, andour children’s children. We have learned that ordinary people can havea voice. We will not put our lives blindly into the hands of politiciansand institutions. We demand to be heard and we know we can be effective.Now let us return in more detail to the twentieth century and discoverthe various ways in which certainty dissolved into uncertainty.Each chapter that follows tells us something about uncertainty in theworlds of art, science, economics, society, and the environment. Eachadds another layer to those increasingly complex questions: Who am I?What do I know? What does it mean to be human?FDPPari, Italy2002