I think there should be a fundamental agnosticism about all of this. I often counsel people with my writing or on this program to get into the habit of enjoying saying I don't know. It's part of the human experience. Alan Watts has a very interesting book that the title is The Wisdom of Insecurity. But most people don't want to live that way.
Neurologist and author Robert Burton talks about his book, On Being Certain, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Burton explores our need for certainty and the challenge of being skeptical about what our brain tells us must be true. Where does what Burton calls "the feeling of knowing" come from? Why can memory lead us astray? Burton claims that our reaction to events emerges from competition among different parts of the brain operating below our level of awareness. The conversation includes a discussion of the experience of transcendence and the different ways humans come to that experience.