The Certainty Trap

I recently became familiar with the writings of Ilana Redstone on "The Certainty Trap", a concept which I found to be extremely enlightening. It has applications, and implications, for understanding and communicating, especially in leadership. It also leverages the value of diverse perspectives, and exploring those perspectives, which optimally can lead to different ways of viewing a problem, issue, or opportunity, and perhaps even a different solution. To quote Strother Martin's classic villain in the movie "Cool Hand Luke", "What we've got here is a failure to communicate".

Redstone on the concept: "In the case of thorny issues, certainty can be an invisible trap. Certainty often leads to a tendency to be dismissive or disdainful of ideas, positions, or even questions that one doesn't agree with - particularly when those ideas, positions, or questions touch beliefs that we hold dear."

She goes on to say that there are two flawed assumptions that contribute to this situation. "The first is that definitive answers are known to disputed points. The second, related to the first, is that the right people to provide those answers can be identified and agreed upon. Rather than falsely demarcating lines between truth and fiction, a smarter and safer response would (be to say) we recognize that our knowledge and understanding will continue to evolve...based on normal evaluative criteria." Civil discourse, she believes, "...can only succeed when there's a willingness to recognize that there's more than one reasoned way to see a given issue."

Redstone explains that "breaking out of the Certainty Trap requires recognizing three common and interrelated barriers keeping us within it. These barriers pull us into The Trap and, once we're in it, they make it hard to break out. The Certainty Trap tells us that there are two possibilities for an opinion we disagree with: ignorance and hateful motives."

"However, outside of its walls, a third possibility emerges that can reshape how we engage: One might have principled reasons for the position they hold. And when we refuse to hear or recognize these reasons, we can't communicate. Remaining within the Certainty Trap will always constrain us to the shorter, two-item, list."

Redstone goes on to outline the three barriers that tie us to the Certainty Trap. "The first is the Settled Question Fallacy - we fall into this when we behave as though certain questions have definitive and clear answers when they, in fact, do not."

"The second barrier is the Fallacy of Known Intent - committed when we behave as though we know someone's motives."

"The third barrier is the Fallacy of Equal Knowledge - this is our mistake when we believe that, if the other person knew what I know (or had my experiences), they would think what I think."

Redstone's summary: "Breaking out of this trap provides a path forward based on curiosity and a more precise reflection of what we know about one another. It's a path that can nurture openness and build trust. And ultimately, it's a path that can transform how we can communicate with one another...".