¹¹This contradiction between ancient philosophers and modern psychology has baffled many commentators. I would speculate that the problem is that not all research on lack of control (or uncertainty) has clearly made the distinction between the level of control/certainty the agent perceives to have, and the level of control/certainty the agent wants to have. In a typical experimental paradigm, the perceived control can be easily reduced by experimental manipulation, but the control that the agent wants to have may be unchanged. Then, the agent may want to have more control or certainty than it perceives to have, and this leads to a case of frustration on a “meta-level” of self-needs, and thus suffering. A Buddhist practitioner is supposed to accept that control is not possible, and everything is uncertain. Thus, she gives up wanting any control and avoids any such meta-level frustration; as just argued in the main text, frustration on the ordinary level is reduced as well. Thus, such an attitude should lead to less suffering.