8/20/2008

APA 2008 - My favorite quote

"Absolute certainty and evil are actually the same thing," was the point Steven Kubacki made in a very interesting presentation at APA. His examination of extremism was fascinating, and his observation that people who commit horrific acts do so convinced of their righteousness (my paraphrase) is on target. Certitude limits one's choices and facilitates extremism.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Absolute certainty and evil are actually the same thing,"

This comment would seem to give rise to questions about Truth, openness to new experience and a host of possibilities with regards to the difference between perception and illusion.

Not knowing the context in which the statement was proferred I am curious on a number of levels.

If one were to have absolute certainty in the healing power and guidance a personal relationship with God and act accordingly, how could the construct of evil be equated with this certainty and faith unless the distortion of His guidance had been deliberately introduced?

Michael Nielsen said...

For what its worth, I received a comment regarding Dr. Kubacki. The commenter pointed me toward a document at the Seattle Times, indicating that a sexual misconduct complaint was filed against Kubacki in 2003. It is not clear to me, from my understanding of the information on that page, the outcome of that case. Judge for yourself at http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/licensetoharm/.

Anonymous said...

Check out www.doh.wa.gov, provider credential search, Steven R Kubacki. Action has been taken against him