Quest for Certainty

The tragic events of this past Tuesday weigh heavily upon us all. Some bear the horror of that event more personally than others. There is an almost universal searching for comfort, answers and action. Everywhere writers and analysts speculate as to what the outcome of these events should be or will be. Others openly share their pain and grief. It is the topic of countless media outlets, as well as the central discussion around dinner tables, offices and bedrooms.

Rather than echo what others have said far more eloquently than I could hope to do, I would like to attempt to offer a framework for understanding how such an horrific event can take place ("How can human beings act in such a manner?") and what effect this event will have on our future.

For the last few months, I have been reflecting at length upon the human need for Certainty. I have done so not in an attempt to understand an economic outcome, although the Quest for Certainty has profound economic implications which we will explore next week. Rather, I have been trying to discern the base nature of relationships both personal and Divine.

Certainty, I am coming to conclude, seems to be a direct human need,…