Introduction: The Feeling of Certainty, Towards a Psychosocial Approach

Abstract

This introduction summarizes the significance and relevance of the concept of certainty and the benefits of studying it through the lens of psychoanalytic and psychosocial studies. The feeling of certainty plays a key role in shaping identity formation, social exclusion, prejudice and commitment to political causes. This raises a number of important questions: what does it mean for the subject to feel certainty about her or his place in society, entitlements, duties and relationships to others? From where does the feeling of certainty originate, and how does it differ from modes of thought that are open to scepticism about the order of things? The introduction argues for the importance of addressing these questions from a variety of psychoanalytic and psychosocial theoretical angles and offers a brief summary of each chapter in the book.