What do you get out of this quote?

Question

Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and

fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish

to live without the support of comforting fairy

tales. . . . To teach how to live without certainty,

and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is

perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age,

can still do for those who study it.

—Bertrand Russell

Answer 1

Um...who are you? And what have you done with Josh?

Answer 2

Wow, that's a good one. For me I see it like this:

Being uncertain is a big flaw because in between hopes and fears, that is the only thing from choosing between those two. When one is uncertain, they either rely on their hopes or fears but if one was certain, they'll know for sure where they stand.

That is why it says teaching one in that manner is the biggest thing in this day and age. We as people are so uncertain about a lot that we are wavering and doing this back and forth dance and we're not progressing.

Anyways, I hope I answered ur homework question. Kidding

OneLove

Answer 3

Life itself is the biggest uncertainty.  We can never be truly certain what will happen to us as we lead our daily lives.  Thus, we have to first choose how we are going to react to this uncertainty.  We can choose to live with the idea that with life there is always hope, or we can choose to hide from what we fear and therefore never truly live a full life.  It then stands to reason that what Bertrand Russell is thinking is that Philosophy, at it's core, can teach us how to accept our fears for what they are, simple uncertainties, thereby giving us the means to reason our way through, or around them to a fuller life.