from certainty to uncertainty: parallels between general science and translation studies

This purely conceptual study draws parallels between general science and translation studies by examining how concepts of certainty first emerged but were then abandoned as better methods for understanding phenomena became available. in doing so, we begin with the scientific zeitgeist at the turn of the 20th century, when scientific certainty was almost taken for granted. the prevailing belief in scientific certainty at that time has since been replaced by a more complex attitude toward uncertainty, one that takes into account the inherent fallibility of scientific knowledge. our discussion of translation studies reflects a parallel development. translation studies as an academic discipline began with the certainty of equivalence firmly rooted in aristotelian binary logic, then discarded it and adopted uncertainty as a paradigm. we end our discussion by pointing out some theoretical traps that scholars might fall into if they take the uncertainty paradigm in translation studies at face value.