David Peat

202 From Certainty to UncertaintyReading CharacterOur realization of the inner complexity of the cosmos and the multiplicityof approaches needed to understand the world is not confinedto the world of matter but also applies to our own inner universe andourselves. At first sight it would seem that, as certainties dissolve intoambiguity and uncertainty, the one thing we can hold onto is ourselves,our sense of identity as independent beings in the world. Wemay apply philosophical doubt to the world around us, but at least weare assured of our own existence. Descartes doubted everything butcould never dismiss the thought that was constantly doing the questioning.Everything can be subject to doubt, but what about thedoubter himself? The fact that he questions must in some way confirman existence. The observation that thinking is going on must imply athinker. Thus Descartes came to his famous conclusion “I think thereforeI am.” Let us cast this in another way: “Thinking and questioningare going on, therefore there must be a thinker and a questioner.” Tojump from this latter statement to the deduction that there must be an“I” as an independently existing being with a past and a future, anexistence in space and time and a well-defined personality, is moredifficult to justify. One can say that an activity of thought is going onand that questions arise in search of answers. But does that necessarilyimply the persistent existence of a thinker who has a clear continuityfrom past to future? The action of thought is quite different from theexistence of a rock, for example.Each of us has a birth date, telephone number, Social Securitynumber, and other means of identification, but are we really clear as towho this “I” within us really is? We have memories, some of whichchange as we age. As we look back we see a child or teenager, sometimeswith different behavior, beliefs, and values from what we wouldnow hold or practice. Our name is a point of continuity for others buthow much else remains the same over the years? And is the “I” it namesreally more fundamental than the various personae we present to theworld?The term “persona” derives from the Greek word for mask. Inmany theatrical traditions to don a mask is to become a particular