The Idea of Trust

Nobody asked but …

To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control.

 — Martha Nussbaum

I really like the above idea of Martha Nussbaum’s, but I’m looking for another word or phrase to replace “trust.”

I have the opinion that we misuse the idea of trust.  It seems to me that trust is an intervention.  It’s a concept from an honor culture.

I would prefer taking a view based on the probabilities of reality.  We often say that driving on open roads requires trust in other drivers.  I differ.  Driving requires an understanding of likelihoods.

One cannot put the onus on others, with or without the others’ consent.  One can only rely on one’s own reckoning.  Maybe the replacement verb I’m looking for is “release.”

— Kilgore Forelle