Tolerance of Uncertainty
by
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John Bancroft is a retired sexologist, previously Director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University. When, during his retirement, he was writing the Third Edition of his book, Human Sexuality and Its Problems, and describing how he and his colleagues had started to use a ‘model’ of sexuality, called the Dual Control Model, he came to realize that use of a ‘model of reality’ such as this, could be of relevance to his philosophy of life, and help him to deal with the many uncertainties in his life.
This inspired him to explore the literature about science and religion to see how others had dealt with uncertainty. In this new book, Tolerance of Uncertainty, he recounts his principal findings. With science he focused principally on the science of the mind and consciousness. With religion he explored the histories of the principal World Religions; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. He was surprised how, through history, there had been theologians who saw God as unknowable, and periods of time when religious belief had been characterized by certainty. How individuals, who were not theologians or priests, had experienced certainty or uncertainty in their religious beliefs, did not become accessible until the 20th Century, starting with the work of William James.
Another theme in this book is the certainty and uncertainty of morality, and how, through history, there have been periods of major change in what was considered as morally acceptable, slavery being one of the most striking examples. A further theme emerges about which the author is close to certain; the fundamental immorality of the subjugation of women, and how this has provided a ‘template’ for other forms of immorality, such as slavery. However, the author is less certain of the best way to resolve this issue. This provides him with an opportunity to propose a ‘model for action’ for how societies and their various components, should deal with the roles of men and women, and which he uses as a prime example of a ‘model of reality’ with which to end the book.
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About the Book
Late in his life, the author came to realize that there was much in his world that was uncertain. How should he deal with that? In this book, he explores how some scientists have tolerated uncertainty and goes on to consider uncertainty in relation to our morals. The subjugation of women has been a major moral problem through history, characterized by certainty. In his view, this has fostered many other immoralities (e.g. slavery). He then reviews the world’s main religions. To what extent have they accepted uncertainty, and how have they dealt with sex and women? How do individuals cope with religious uncertainty?
By the end of the book, he makes the clear distinction between unknowability (reflecting the limitations of our comprehension, which we should respect) and uncertainty (which is more relevant to our day-to-day experiences, which we need to cope with and tolerate). For this purpose, he proposes models of reality that we could use, assessing the extent that they have been helpful and modifying them as necessary. He sees this modelism as having general significance, and to illustrate this, he proposes a radical model for incorporating both women and men into our society: a two-team approach. Tolerance of uncertainty is of fundamental importance to us all. Certainty is often problematic and should be viewed with caution.
About the Author
From the age of nine, John Bancroft knew he wanted to be a doctor, and by the age of fourteen, a psychiatrist. He trained at Cambridge University and Saint George’s Hospital, London, and qualified in medicine in 1960. He went on to train in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, London, and in 1969 moved to Oxford to help his colleague, Michael Gelder, establish a new University Department of Psychiatry. Over the next few years, he became increasingly interested in human sexuality, and in 1976, he moved to the Medical Research Council’s Reproductive Biology Unit in Edinburgh. He was there for the next nineteen years until he was appointed director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction in Indiana University in the United States. Of his many publications, the principal one is Human Sexuality & Its Problems, Third Edition (Elsevier, 2009).
He has been married twice and has fathered five children. His first wife, Judy Greenwood, is also a psychiatrist. His second wife, Cynthia Graham, is a clinical psychologist. Music has played a large part in his life. Apart from playing jazz piano himself, his first three children—Sophie, Tom, and Phil—are professional jazz musicians. His younger son, Jack, is showing promise as a guitarist. In contrast, his daughter Rosie is a world class swimmer.
He retired in 2004, since when he has been living with his wife Cynthia and children Rosie and Jack in his paradise just outside Oxford, which he has owned since 1969.
He has had a full and rewarding life, for which he is very grateful.