At the end of the twelfth century, the Jewish philosopher Maimonides wrote his famous Guide for the Perplexed. In this work, Maimonides tried to help people who were confused about their beliefs in God and the world by explaining how religious texts should be interpreted not literally. By doing this Maimonides tried to establish once and for all what the truth was, so that people would not have to be perplexed anymore. By doing this, Maimonides added one more truth to the list of thousands of other different truths about the world that have been offered by thousands of other different thinkers and religions over history.
With so many different contradicting truths about the universe, one starts to wonder how all these thinkers throughout history could be so sure to dismiss their perplexity. With so many different contradicting truths about the universe, one even starts to think that perplexity and doubt might actually be the rational state of mind. It is not a shame to be perplexed. Being perplexed is simply having the bravery to admit that you are not certain about the universe. And you shouldn’t be. The universe is extremely complex and it makes sense to admit you are perplexed. And anyone who is claiming to know the truth about the universe for certain is overestimating their own wisdom. So let’s stay perplexed for now and be wary of anyone who tries to cure you from it.
David's medieval philosophy blog 