Philosophy, epistemology. --- .Introduction or summary. (1) Epistemology and psychology. (A) Drives. Instinctual knowledge. (B) Senses. Can we trust our senses? Illusions are a case where we can not trust our senses. (C) Memory. False memories. (D) Emotion. Emotional knowledge. (E) Thinking. Methods of thought. Structures of concepts. (2) Epistemology and sociology. Sociology of knowledge. (A) Politics. Censorship vs. free speech. Government control of media. Public opinion polling. (B) Economics. Monopoly control of media by corporations. (3) Epistemology and history. Revisionist history. (4) Epistemology and art. Literary theory. Truth of fiction. Non-science. (5) Epistemology and journalism. How certain you should be before you run a story. (6) Epistemology in religion. Faith as blind belief. (7) Epistemology and math. Probability theory as degree of certainty. Statistics and epistemology. (8) Epistemology and logic. Rationalism. Syllogism. Inference. (9) Epistemology and science. Empiricism. Induction. (10) Epistemology and language. Language is needed to think and reason. (11) Math and logic are examples of deductive proof. --- 9/11/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- .See also: Psychology, logic. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- .See also: Psychology, thinking. See also: Science. See also: Philosophy, what. --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- .This section is about epistemology or the theory of knowledge and related concepts. --- 12/30/2003
Philosophy, epistemology. --- .This section is about epistemology. Topics include: ( ) Art and epistemology. ( ) Belief. ( ) Certainty. ( ) Doubt and skepticism. ( ) Individual and epistemology. ( ) Knowledge. ( ) Language and epistemology. ( ) Lies. ( ) Method. ( ) Probability and epistemology. ( ) Proof. ( ) Sociology of knowledge. ( ) Standards. ( ) Truth. --- 1/24/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Awareness of existence of a thing. (2) Knowledge of a thing (x in general), structure, mechanism, purpose, history, cause, effects. --- 05/30/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Criteria (standards) for truth. (2) Methods of inquiry. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Epistemic drive: If your epistemic drive is too low you will not seek knowledge or create knowledge. (2) Epistemic standards: If your epistemic standards are too low you will accept anything as true (ex. astrology, psychics). (3) The price you pay for low epistemic drive and low epistemic standards is pain (emotional, physical) and loss (of time, money, etc.) --- 3/4/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Epistemology as we ideally imagine it in philosophy texts, vs. (2) Epistemology (truth seeking) as it actually occurs in the individual and in society. --- 1/18/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Practical, pragmatist vs. idealist; this is an ethical issue. (2) Practical, actual vs. theoretical; this is an epistemological issue. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Subject areas of knowledge. (2) Ways of knowing. (3) Degrees of knowing. --- 8/29/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) The questions you ask. (2) The methods you use. (3) The answers you find. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Three realms. (A) Patently false. 100% untrue. (B) Not exactly accurate. Some degree less than 100% true. (C) Dead on accurate. 100% true. (2) Most of our knowledge of the world is in the second category of "not exactly accurate". However, most people walk around with an attitude of "true or false" instead of "not exactly accurate". --- 5/15/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- (1) Types or kinds of knowledge, belief, etc. vs. (2) Levels or degrees of knowledge, belief, etc. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- A few simple truths work better than using many complex lies. --- 06/15/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Against delusion use confrontation, honesty, and unrepression. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Against naive realism or common sense theories of epistemology. (1) Humans cannot see micro-organisms without instruments. Micro-organisms existed before the invention of the microscope but humans had no common sense concept of micro-organisms. (2) Humans can only infer quantum theory. Most scientists think quantum theory is correct, but naive realism does not work to support quantum theory. (3) There is no evidence for string theory. Yet string theory is held as a promising scientific theory. --- 4/17/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- An individual, and a society, should have some logic, reason, rigorous thinking, otherwise mistakes and problems ensue. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Arguments. Logically valid arguments. Arguments, in which conclusions are inferred from premises, are a way of generating new knowledge. Thus, logic and epistemology are inextricably linked. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Art and epistemology. "We learned more from a three minute song than we ever learned in school.", to quote/paraphrase Bruce Springsteen. Epistemological arguments that are pro-art (poetry, music, visual art), and pro-emotion. --- 11/29/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Art and epistemology. Epistemology of the arts. Art has a knowledge component, or else it would just be entertainment. Good art is chock full of knowledge, such as: (1) Emotional knowledge. Some would argue that, aside from real life, art is the only place that we get emotional knowledge. (2) Factual knowledge. Example, when the author describes the layout of a city in a novel. (3) Art tends to have concrete knowledge rather than abstract knowledge. (4) Art tends to use analogical reasoning. This is because, art tends to use figurative language (esp. analogy and metaphor), rather than exact language. --- 6/9/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Assumptions and implications. When you hold any view. (1) What does it assume? Assumptions. (2) What does it imply? Implications. --- 06/15/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Basic epistemological attitudes that are good to have. (1) Curious. Inquisitive. Ask questions. (2) Critique answers. Doubt. Skepticism. (3) Observe the world. Empiricism. (4) Logical. Rational. Value reason and thinking. (5) Creative. Problem solver. Hypothesis tester. --- 10/8/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. (1) Belief as opinion: Truer vs. falser. Unconscious vs. conscious. Provable vs. unproveable. (2) Percent or amount that a belief can be proved scientifically or argued rationally. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. (1) Every thought is a belief. (2) Certainty simply means believing 100%. Thus, certainty is a subset of belief. --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. (1) Percent and degree deliberated vs. percent and degree accepted. (2) Belief based on evidence and reasoning vs. blind belief. (3) Percent you thought about your beliefs vs. percent you blindly accepted your beliefs. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. A person's beliefs should be based on reason, scientific evidence, and logical argument. A person's beliefs should not be based on magic, superstition, myth, faith, etc. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Blind belief is unethical. Blind belief can be described as believing something just because you read it somewhere. Believing everything you hear. Believing without critical thinking. Believing without doubt. Faith, for its lack of critical thinking, is unethical. Blind belief and blind obedience are wrong. --- 11/13/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Non-religious belief. For all cases of probability. For anything less than 100% certainty, you proceed based on what you "believe" will happen. Since very little of our life is 100% certainty, non-religious belief plays a major role in our epistemological abilities. --- 6/4/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. People have beliefs about ethics. What they believe is right and wrong, or good and bad. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Philosophical view of belief. (1) Every thought is a belief. Beliefs take the form of statements. Every thought can be expressed as a statement. (2) Some beliefs are true and some beliefs are false. For example, if you believe that the moon is made of cheese, that belief is false. (3) Some beliefs are justified by reason. Other beliefs are not justified by reason. For example, if you believe that planet Earth is round based on your belief that ducks nibbled off its edges, then your belief that the earth is round is not justified. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. There is only one kind of belief. (1) Religious belief and non-religious belief differ only by subject matter. Religious belief is belief regarding religious topics. Non-religious belief is belief regarding non-religious topics. (2) Belief can be warranted or unwarranted. Religious belief in the face of contrary evidence is wrong. --- 9/17/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Time and belief. (1) People have beliefs about the future. What they believe will happen. (2) People have beliefs about the past. What they believe happened. (3) People have beliefs about the present. What they believe is happening now. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Two types of believing. (1) Believing your eyes, your senses and yourself. (2) Believing other people, what they say, what they write and how they act. (3) People often put a greater degree of belief in the former than the latter. --- 4/29/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Belief. Various uses of the word "belief". The word "belief" can be used with several different meanings. (1) Belief as a synonym for thought or idea. People give various amounts, degree or weights of credence to various ideas. The philosophical sense of the word belief. (2) Belief as synonymous with faith or blind belief. The religious sense of the word belief. --- 11/13/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Body and epistemology. In our knowing about the world, our bodies interacting with physical things is just as important as our minds interacting with ideas. Embodied physicality is as important as abstract concepts. --- 7/12/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Can you fit all we know, or even all an individual needs to know, in a dictionary, an almanac, a quote book, an encyclopedia, or a four year college curriculum? --- 08/24/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Certainty and uncertainty. Degrees of certitude. (1) Positive. (2) Stake my life on it. (3) Stake my reputation on it. (4) Will bet my hat. (5) Pretty damn sure. (6) Got a hunch. (7) No clue, no idea, who knows, anybody's guess. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Certainty. (1) Certainty defined as 100% confidence. We do not talk about degrees of certainty; either you are certain or you are not. (2) There are two basic views: the view that we can be certain and the view that we cannot be certain. (3) To be certain is to have a closed mind, which is not a good thing. Better to have an open mind. For example, science is about constant re-evaluation. (4) Can we be certain about anything? Science is not about certainty. Math and logic are about certainty, but only within a system whose rules we have created. When we try to apply math and logic to the physical world we get situations were one type of math or logic does not hold but another type does (ex. Newtonian physics vs. Einsteinian physics). (5) In everyday life, absolute certainty is a rarity. We live most of our lives in states of uncertainty. Certainty is a rarely achieved ideal. Better to learn how to evaluate situations that are less than certain. --- 12/2/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Debate. (1) Develop arguments and counter-arguments. (2) Debate the pros and cons of each argument. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Deduction: reasoning, logic. Induction: evidence, science. --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Does the truth always come to light? Does justice always prevail? Maybe in the long run, but not necessarily in the short run. Sometimes it never does. We will never know of all the horrors prehistoric criminals committed. --- 12/30/1995
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Doubt and skepticism. (1) One view holds that doubt and skepticism evolved when humans developed the ability to lie and detect lies. Doubt and skepticism evolved when people developed the ability to say, "It is possible that what you say is false. Its possible that what you say is a lie (intentionally false, knowingly false). You could be wrong." (2) Another view holds that doubt and skepticism evolved when humans developed the ability to think hypothetically. Doubt and skepticism is based on hypotheticals. Doubt and skepticism evolved when humans began to say things like, "It is possible that what I believe to be true is actually false (not true). Its possible that what I see is false (an illusion). I could be wrong." --- 6/7/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Doubt and Skepticism. Skepticism is to doubt that knowledge is possible. (1) However, to "doubt the possibility of x" is simply another way of of saying "to believe that x is not possible". So therefore skepticism is to believe that knowledge is not possible. (2) If a skeptic says that he believes that knowledge is not possible then he at least apparently believes that belief is possible. (3) If a skeptic says he "is sure" or "is certain" that knowledge is not possible, or if he says he "knows" that knowledge is not possible, then he apparently does belief in certainty and knowledge. --- 1/1/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Emotion and epistemology. (1) Some people would argue that emotion has a part to play in human epistemology. For example, in the subject area of love, if you ask a person how she knew she was in love, she may say that she knew because she felt it. If you ask her about the degree to which she was sure she was in love, she may say it was a result of how strongly she felt it. (2) Are we ready to completely rule out emotion from epistemology? No. Emotions must be considered in some way in epistemology. --- 8/29/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Empiricism and Rationalism. (1) Empiricism. (A) Strong empiricism. All knowledge is from the senses. (B) Weak empiricism. Some knowledge is from the senses. (2) Rationalism. (A) Strong rationalism. All knowledge is derived from principles. (B) Weak rationalism. Some knowledge is derived from principles. (3) Humans do both, empiricism and rationalism. Humans do both, induction and deduction. --- 3/15/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Empiricism and rationalism. (1) Everything we know is via the senses and perception. There is only deduction, no induction. (2) Opposite view. Everything we know via rationalism. (3) Humans are a mix of the above two. --- 1/16/2003
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Empiricism. Empirical reasoning: from perception to concrete idea, to abstract idea. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Empiricism. Is non-empirical knowledge possible? Do you define non-empirical knowledge as making new conceptual connections? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Empiricism. Sense perception: can we trust our perceptions? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological holism or coherentism. (1) Ideas are contextual. A person has a web of ideas. The ideas are held together by a variety of logical relations, evidentary weights, and other types of connectors. The connectors themselves are ideas. It is an over simplification to say that ideas exist in a simple hierarchy. (2) A society also has a web of ideas that are contextual in a way similar to the way that ideas a contextual in an individual person's mind. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological ideals, problems and techniques. Search, test, and review your ideas constantly. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological phenomena. (1) Assertions: true vs. false. (2) Doubt: skepticism. (3) Evidence: conclusive, incontestable, incontrovertible vs. not. (4) Facts: discovered and proved as fact vs. undiscovered and unproved. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological positions. (1) Any knowledge or truth is impossible. (2) Some knowledge is possible. (3) Absolute knowledge or truth is possible. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological questions. (1) How do we know about something, anything, or everything? (2) How do we know what we know is true or false? (3) How can we be sure? (4) What is there to know, in general, and about subject x ? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological questions. (1) What is truth? What is knowledge? What is certainty? When can we be certain? What is belief? When to believe? What is doubt? What is being skeptical or critical? (2) When someone says "believe me" they are saying "trust me". When someone says "trust me", they are often about to screw you. (3) Epistemology and the impossible, possible and probable. (4) Can we trust our senses? Mostly, not always. Quantum physics and relativity physics are two examples of truths that seem to contradict our senses. (5) Can we trust our reason? What is intuition? (6) Is doubt good? Yes, because it leads to questions. (7) Is inquisitiveness good? Yes, keep asking questions. (8) Is belief bad? Yes, because it leads to stop asking questions. (9) Is belief ever good? To believe you can accomplish the possible. Belief in self. You gotta believe. Some trust is necessary in social relations. (10) At what type and degree of empirical evidence and logical reasoning should we reject, tentatively accept, or completely accept a truth claim? --- 9/8/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemological sophistication of an individual or society in areas like (1) Theory building (arguments), and (2) Fact gathering (empirical science), and how it affects their lives. --- 09/10/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemology and logic concern ideas about correct and pure thinking vs. our actual messy heads. (1)(A) Science as described by philosophy of science is an ideal. And it is one small area of how individuals and society come to know things. (B) Logic is an ideal, and it is one small area of how individuals and society know things. (See: Sociology of knowledge. See: Psychology, thinking.) (2) In practice we think much less purely. (A) Ideas come to us out of the haze of the arts (visual arts, poetry, music, etc.). (B) We use heuristics. (C) We use associations (simile and metaphor). (D) Our emotions affect our thinking. (E) Language (vocabulary) limits and affects how we think. (F) We just think of things. Ideas pop into our heads. (G) Or we use our gut, intuition, hunches. (H) Or we start asking questions (see question theory) and think of any and all possible answers. --- 02/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemology is about facts and reasoning. We use science to discover and verify facts. We use logic to determine valid conclusions. Both are important. --- 02/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Epistemology, broadly defined, includes the philosophy of science. Epistemology, broadly defined is about methods of inquiry and standards of acceptance. --- 10/8/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Ethics and epistemology. In everyday life epistemology works hand in hand with ethics. In the world of theory we separate them, but they are inseparable in our functioning minds. We constantly ask ourselves questions like (1) What is the situation we are in (epistemology)? (2) What do I want to do about it (ethics)? What are our available options and which to choose? --- 02/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Ethics and epistemology. Some people construe epistemology as a matter of ethics. It is a matter of ethics whether an individual or society pursues inquiry, science and truth. It is a matter of ethics what type of epistemological standards an individual or society holds. At the very least, ethics and epistemology are inextricably linked. --- 11/13/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Fact and opinion. So much of living a good life is attitudes and opinions. Facts only gets you so far. Facts are helpful in forming opinions. Facts and opinions are both necessary. Opinions should be based on reason. A person might get the facts wrong. A person might also hold suboptimal opinions. --- 3/25/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Facts: as provable. Beliefs: as value judgments, unproveable. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Faith as blind belief vs. doubt and skepticism. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- False. (1) Illusions, delusions. (2) Mistaken, by subject. (3) False promises, and false expectations. (4) Errors and omissions. (5) Propaganda. (6) Withholding (secrets). (7) Everything's a lie by degree. (8) Implicit vs. explicit. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Figuring out and finding out. A big part of epistemology is finding out (as opposed to figuring out). Consider things like the bias of author (What are they selling you? Whose side are they on? etc.). A correlation of objective (disinterested), independent (no knowledge of each other) responses is best. It is like asking for directions in a car. --- 10/30/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- For any statement: what is its degree of truth/falsity, accuracy, and completeness? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Given any level of proof, when to act on partial information or partial proof. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Half-truths or partial-truths are an important topic in epistemology. (1) Half-truths, definition one: Often a person will err by stating a truth, without stating (to use the language of the court) "the whole truth". People often defend themselves by saying "I told the truth" without having told the whole truth. What is the whole truth? In one sense, the whole truth is global. The whole truth is everything that ever happened since time and the universe began. The whole truth is the history and future of the universe. In a second sense, the whole truth is all the facts (and only the facts) relevant and pertinent to the situation at hand. In a third sense, the whole truth is both the facts and the ethical arguments relevant to a situation. To be as truthful as possible, one must take into account all the facts and ethical issues in the entire situation. The whole truth is contextual and pluralistic. (2) Half-truths, definition two: the world is not black and white. It is possible to make a statement that is true only to a certain degree. It is possible to make a statement that is 25%, or 50%, or 75% true. For example, to say "People like soda", when only 50% of people like soda. The problem is that many people think that any given statement is either 100% true or 100% false, when actually the real world is analog (shades of gray) and not digital (black & white). --- 12/12/2000
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Historically and today, in any society, in any situation. (1) What counts as persuasive proof. Example, statistical correlation of cigarette deaths. (2) What counts as persuasive argument or reasoning. Example, syllogism. (3) What does not. Example, pseudoscience. --- 02/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- History of epistemology. The philosophers. The development of the subjects: empiricism (evidence), rationalism(logic). Great proofs in history: philosophic, and scientific. Great lies, and great mistakes. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- How much do we know what's really going on, especially what other people are thinking or doing when we are not there? Paranoia! --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Hypothetical. A universe containing 100 facts. Person A picks 50 facts that support their views. Person B picks 50 facts that support their views. Both are "true". Actually, half true. --- 10/13/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- I don't believe in (1) Myth, magic, religion, mysticism. (2) Poetry. Hiding or repressing your communication. (3) They are all neurotic, repression, denial of mind, especially denial of reason. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Ideas: idea as something thought? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- If everything is subject to debate then there is no certainty. People crave certainty. (2) Epistemological relativism means saying that truth, or knowledge, is relative. Saying truth, or knowledge, is not objective. Saying truth, or knowledge, is relative to an individual person, a society, a situation, etc. Nihilism means saying that there is no truth. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- In real life, people usually do two things. One, people use empiricism, science, to determine the facts of a situation. Two, people use rationalism, logic, to argue for a particular ethics of what to do in a situation. Very seldom do people do one without the other. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. (1) Figuring out. (2) Finding out. What to believe? (A) Gather as many views, arguments and facts as you can. (B) Reliance on the media. Today we are dependent on the media to get much of the information we need. Read from as many sources of various viewpoints as you can. Accuracy of facts vs. bias, slant, and one sided coverage. Pressures on media to alter content, by advertisers who can choose to stop advertising, and by subscribers who can choose to stop reading. (C) Government censorship and government fabrications. Read media from many countries to get a variety of views. --- 1/30/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. (1) There is the epistemology of the group (society). And there is the epistemology of the individual person. (2) Modern society tends to rely on the storehouse of science for its epistemological foundation. The modern individual tends to rely more on a form of rough, rudimentary philosophy and on fuzzy art for his or her epistemological foundation. (3) The epistemology of society and the individual tend to inform each other. They swap information. --- 1/18/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Epistemology of the individual. Truth seeking methods that we all use as individuals. Ways of figuring stuff out. Everyday everyone of us use the following methods. (1) Scientific method in everyday life. (A) Experience. (B) Data gathering. (C) Probability and statistical analysis. (2) Logic in everyday life. (3) Detective work. (4) Lawyering. (5) Journalism. (6) Historian. (7) Artist. (8) Sociology. Finding out stuff from other people, and about other people, as opposed to finding out stuff about objects. (9) Psychology. Figuring out stuff about yourself. (9) Technology. Inventing the truth. Trial and error methods of truth gathering. --- 5/8/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Lay epistemics. When a person gains knowledge it is a result of generating hypotheses and then testing hypotheses. (1) Hypothesis generation is a function of creativity. (2) Hypothesis testing is a function of logical rigor. --- 7/16/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Magic, art, philosophy and science are all a melange in our unconscious minds. They are only separate when we consciously separate them. --- 7/4/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Most of what I "know" is ideas I did not generate by using the scientific method (experiments). Most of what I "know" is ideas that "just came to me". I did try to examine and think critically about these ideas. And I did try to develop and examine alternative views. Thus it is as much logic (deduction) as it is science (induction). And it is as much emotion as it is thinking. People adopt and stick with ideas that "feel right" to them. Pragmatism: "stick with what works". The individual does more philosophy and art than they do science. --- 1/18/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Science is a group, public pursuit. But on the individual, personal level, how much proof vs. how much theory should we have? What is the right mix? --- 10/10/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. The main question is, since we can't test and prove everything ourselves, who to believe, who to trust? (1) The news, peers, parents, bible? Nah. (2) Should we go with what feels right (emotions and instinct)? If you have a messed up mind, your instincts are not always right. (3) Should we go with what makes sense (reasoning)? (4) The main thing is to, (A) Think on a wide variety of topics. (B) Sort out your beliefs and write them down. (C) Gather information (read, talk) from a wide variety of sources. (D) Write that down too and sort it out. --- 02/15/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. Trusting, believing and taking for granted vs. rigorously testing for yourself, searching for alternative explanations and searching for alternative epistemic methods. --- 1/20/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual and epistemology. When individuals reason they use philosophy more often than science. --- 9/2/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Individual epistemology vs. group epistemology. (1) Science is a group endeavor. The individual can not use pure scientific method. (2) Group science has journals. Individuals must write and organize their notes as well as read. (3) If an individual takes the view that exploring and thinking and knowledge are not important for their own survival, health, and growth, then they are screwed. --- 10/25/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Information and epistemology. Epistemology today is about information. Sources of information. Access to information. Accuracy and reliability of information. Picking and sorting information. Critical review of information. (1) The majority of what is happening today is not complicated. There's just a lot to keep track of. (2) Because of the size of the world, the majority of what we know today is second hand knowledge obtained from the media. We find out from the media more than we figure out for ourselves. (See Technology, information theory). --- 7/14/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- It does not have to be true, it just has to be informative. (1) In science, failed experiments can help point us toward solutions and truth. (2) In sociology, when we ask "Why would this person lie?", we can expose their hidden motives. (3) The point is, we hunger for truth, but we get truth by sorting through the false. --- 7/20/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- It is not always simply a matter of whether an idea is true or false. A more important question is where an idea fits into one's epistemological hierarchy. That is, we consider an idea more true than some ideas and less true than others. --- 12/12/2000
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Journalism and epistemology. (1) Journalism is, much more than science, the main epistemological pursuit of today's society. Analysis and commentary is important in journalism because hard facts do not suffice. Facts need to be interpreted. (2) The main epistemological pursuit of the individual today is news gathering from television, magazine, newspapers, books and gossip. Today we tend to find out from other sources just as much as we figure out for ourselves. (3) Epistemology is really psychology and the sociology of knowledge. (4) Instead of philosophy of science, we should be studying the philosophy of journalism. --- 8/26/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Justification or warrant can be based on either evidence or arguments. Evidence is based on the senses. Arguments are based on logic. --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowing. Five ways of knowing about a thing. For example, a cat. (1) The word "cat". (2) The image of a cat. (3) The sound of a cat. (4) The short (dictionary) definition of cat vs. (5) The entire body of knowledge about cats. --- 1/1/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowledge and pseudo-knowledge. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowledge types. (1) Received knowledge. Belief in what you are told, read, heard. Tradition. Believe what others believe (conformity, imitation). (2) Intuitive knowledge. Hunch, gut feeling. Knowing answer without knowing reasons. May work for an individual, but can society run off it? (3) Esoteric knowledge. Foreign, obscure, secret, lost, or hidden knowledge. Mystic knowledge. Divine inspiration. (4) Experiential knowledge. Only believing what you saw/heard with own two eyes/ears. Not trusting anything you read, or deciding not to read. Anti-scholasticism. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowledge: knowledge as truth? Knowledge as justified true belief? Knowledge as a product of thought? If you know (what, how, and why) you are halfway there. Truth: empirical and logical truths. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowledge. Two definitions of "knowing". (1) To know an idea conceptually. To understand the meaning of a sentence that expresses the idea. (2) To know a fact, as in "to make an idea your own.", is to accept it, agree with it, integrate it and embody it in one's mind and life. (3) The distinction between the above two types of knowing is at the core of psychological health. The unhealthy person realizes the first. The healthy person does the second. --- 11/14/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Knowledge. Types of knowledge. (1) First hand bodily experience. (2) First hand witness. (3) Second hand knowledge. --- 9/11/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Language and epistemology. "Are you sure? Are you positive?" What do these phrases mean? --- 04/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Language and epistemology. If you believe that language cannot completely capture nor portray reality then no statement can ever be one hundred percent true. Example, when talking about emotions, how can we accurately convey how we feel? We cannot completely. --- 8/26/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Language and epistemology. Thought defined as "language spoken to self". --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Language. Are you arguing about what is, or are you arguing about statements about what is? How much of epistemology is an issue of language? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Law and epistemology. Law is an example of high epistemological standards in regard to fact and argument. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies are intentional falsity. To be mistaken is an unintentional falsity. --- 11/15/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies due to error, omission, or commission. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies: fantasy worlds built on delusions, and b.s. built on falsities, they both collapse. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. (1) How big (major or minor variance from truth). How many. (2) False purported truths (lies). (3) Half truths vs. total untruths. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. (1) Intentional vs. unintentional. (2) Harmful vs. harmless. (3) Conscious vs. unconscious. (4) Lies to hurt vs. lies to protect. (5) Lies to x, by y, about z, in a medium, in b way. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. (1) Lies my parents told me. (2) Lies that society told me. (3) Lies that I told myself. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. (1) The little lie: little harm done to few. The big lie: much damage to many. (2) The minor lie: small deviation from reality. The major lie: large deviation from reality. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. All lies harm. They fu*k people's heads up with wrong information and also the psychological abuse of being lied to. Lies destroy trust. Lies destroy self confidence. Lies are mental abuse. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. Anyone who says they have never lied, or that they don't lie, is a liar. All one can do is endeavor to reduce the number and magnitude of one's lies. --- 11/1/2003
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. Learn how to recognize lies and bullshit. Cross check sources. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. Reveal truth, and expose lies. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. Two views. Ignorance is bliss vs. ignorance punishes. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Lies. Why do people lie: to protect self, and to hurt others. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Logic. Logic in words, in numbers, and in rule following. Valid vs. invalid. Logical arguments vs. factual evidence. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Maintaining multi-perspectives. There are two (or more) sides to every story, or views to every issue. Always hear both sides. To do this you must play devils advocate against your views and for opposing views. Always root for the underdog. The only unity is a harmony of parts, or an equalized tension of parts with each part pulling their way to keep things in balance. Monism is fascist totalitarianism. Pluralism rules. --- 08/24/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Method. (1) Methods of inquiry: asking questions, observing, and experimenting. (2) Methods of judgment of arguments: analysis and comparison. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Method. See also methodologies of theory and science in all subject areas. Methodologies. Rate them best to worst. What is the cutoff point where they pass muster and are accepted as good science (vs. bad science). What is the history of the methodologies? --- 09/24/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methodologies, history of. Methodologies by subject area. Methodologies from best to worst. --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods and epistemological standards. If your methods are bad and your standards are low you will believe anything. If your standards are too high you will believe nothing. How much does, and should, the secular man take on belief or trust? Everything in the newspaper? Everything in the textbooks? --- 08/21/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods in epistemology are distinct only on paper, not in real life. In real life one method blurs into another. --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods. Every area of inquiry has epistemological methods. Some examples of epistemological methods are the following: (1) Heuristic methods. (2) Don't believe everything you read. (3) Troubleshooting. Diagnostics. The technological approach. Swap parts. Test it. (4) Debate it. Rational argument. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods. History of development of epistemological methods. Logic, science (hard physical sciences and soft social sciences), literary criticism. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods. PART ONE. Good epistemological attitudes and practices. (1) Questioning and curiosity is good. (2) Doubting and skepticism are good. (3) Discussion and debate are good. (4) Examining one's beliefs is good. (5) Free thinking is good. (6) Philosophy and science are good. (7) Inquiry is good. (8) Knowledge based on reason is good. (9) Reason is good. Philosophy and science are based on reason. PART TWO. Bad epistemological attitudes and practices. (1) Repression of natural curiosity is bad. (2) Blind belief is bad. Blind faith is bad. (3) Silence, with no debate, is bad (4) Fear of reason is bad. Fear of thinking is bad. (5) Faulty logic and faulty reasoning is bad. (6) Unexamined beliefs are bad. (7) Ignoring the world is bad. (8) Ignorance is bad. (9) Magic and superstition are bad. PART THREE. One has to start with the basics, in part because there are some people out there whose thought processes have atrophied through lack of use. People whose thought processes have decayed through years of blind belief and blind obedience. --- 10/30/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods. Quantitative methods and epistemology. Statistics: descriptive and predictive probability. Impossibility vs. possibility. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Methods. Some basic epistemological principles. (1) Combine empiricism and rationalism. Look for evidence. Develop logical arguments. (2) Gather information from many sources. Be a critical thinker. (3) Continually question. Continually discuss. --- 8/14/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Most of the time people go by their best guesses. Educated guesses. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- My epistemological problem while growing up. (1) I did not know everything (A) Soon enough, (B) And did not know that I did not know it. (2) I was not SURE ENOUGH of what I did know (sure enough to act instantly). So thus my actions sucked, and time (to develop and grow) was wasted. I could have worked it all out if I had spent more effort and put it down on paper. I have the same problem now to a lesser extent. --- 11/20/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Naturalized epistemology. Can the entire subject of epistemology be moved into the psychology departments? I think so. Quine thought so. What are the arguments against such a move? --- 9/12/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Naturalized epistemology. Epistemology should be naturalized. Epistemology can be considered the science of psychology. Epistemology should be approached as a form of thinking (i.e. psychology) that yields truth. --- 01/20/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Naturalized epistemology. When one studies epistemology one is really studying the psychology of thought. Psychology of thought replaces or continues epistemology. --- 11/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Not everything is understood, and sometimes we know the answer without knowing the reasons. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Notions of evidence and argument in the epistemological process. --- 10/10/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Often we believe a metaphysical or ethical proposition despite having no evidence or argument to believe it, however this phenomenon is not accurately described as faith. Sometimes we even believe a proposition in the face of contrary evidence or arguments, yet this phenomenon is still not accurately described as faith. We say "I don't know why, I just believe it.", or, "That's just the way I feel, and I don't care what you say to the contrary." People often go on hunches and intuitions. Every moment of every day cannot be analyzed and debated beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt. There just is not enough time to do so. Yet that does not mean we are resorting to "faith", whatever that term means. --- 12/2/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Philosophy and theory. Philosophy is pure theory. Pure Theory is anything you can figure out without doing experiments. Deduction. --- 09/01/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Pragmatism. What is the best epistemology system for an individual or society? A few simple truths can work better than many complex lies. --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Probability and epistemology. The truth of the odds. Probability vs. certainty. Three cases of meta-probability. (1) We are 100% certain that earthquakes will strike 30% of the time. Vs. (2) We are only somewhat sure (50%?) That earthquakes will hit 30% of the time. Vs. (3) We do not know at all what percentage of time earthquakes hit. --- 6/30/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Probability and knowledge. Percent degree of belief from 0% to 100%. How sure do you have to be in any situation? For example, in law some civil cases require only "a preponderance of evidence", while criminal cases require "evidence beyond a reasonable doubt". --- 4/28/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Probability. (1) Reality is a crapshoot. Everything is based on probability. Probability is about uncertainty and risk. (2) Risk is about high stakes, or outcomes of great gain or great loss. Risk can also be about the odds; low odds for positive outcomes means high risk. (3) High stakes is based on inputs and outputs. Inputs can be high or low. Outputs can be great gain or great loss. (4) It all depends on your tolerance for uncertainty and risk. (5) You can be certain of the odds but still be uncertain of the actual outcome. Even that is an improvement over not even knowing the odds. For example: The weather-person predicts a 30% chance of rain tomorrow. Weather reports are now 80% accurate. Fifty years ago the weather reports were 50% accurate. The 24 hour forecast is 80% accurate but the five day forecast is 50% accurate. --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Probability. Does anyone know anything with 100% confidence? If not, then probability plays a major role in epistemology. --- 2/24/2003
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Problems. (1) Lacking data. (2) Refusing to consider data. (3) Refusing to search for data. (4) Mistakes in reasoning. (5) Omissions in reasoning. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Problems. Two similar bad attitudes. (1) "If I have not thought of an idea then that idea cannot be important". This is a bad attitude held by many individuals. All advances in individuals are made by thinking of ideas they have never thought. (2) "If it is not scientifically proven then it does not exist". This is a bad attitude held concerning public science. All advances in science are made by those who work on things that are not currently scientifically proven. (3) Conversely, another bad attitude held by both individuals and societies is believing that scientific proof means nothing, and thinking that all angels are real. --- 12/29/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Proof. (1) Historical proof: it did happen. (2) Present proof: it is happening. (3) Predictive proof: it will happen. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Proof. Inconclusive evidence. Preponderance of evidence. Overwhelming evidence. Evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Incontestable, incontrovertible evidence. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Proof. Logical proof. Mathematical proof. Scientific proof. Philosophical proof. Legal proof. Journalistic proof. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Proof. Proof = evidence + arguments. Proof as airtight argument. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Psychology (science) is kicking epistemology's (philosophy) ass. --- 02/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Questions about epistemology vs. epistemological questions. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Questions. (1) Asking questions is natural and healthy. (2) Types of questions: (A) Questions with no answer. (B) Questions where any answer is wrong. (C) Questions with only one answer. (D) Questions with more than one answer. (E) Questions where any answer is right. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Reality vs. illusion, dreams, fantasy, imagination, vision. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Reason and thinking vs. belief and non-thinking (habit, tradition, veging). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Reason is not a thing, it is a process or method used to arrive at knowledge, information, or truth. --- 06/15/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Reasoning (deductive) vs. evidence (inductive). --- 10/27/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Related subjects. Epistemology in science, law (evidence), journalism (sources), and detective work. Ways to investigate, and ways to draw conclusions. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Relation of truth to knowledge. Can truth exist without knowledge? Can knowledge exist without truth? Knowledge as justified true belief. --- 12/30/1995
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Science and epistemology. Science is a subset of epistemology. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Simplification and epistemology. In our knowing about the world, how much do we simplify in order to understand? Simplification occurs on the perceptual level. Simplification occurs on the thought level. Simplification occurs at every level. --- 7/12/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Skepticism is dual-sided. You can doubt god, faith, belief, and mysticism or you can doubt reason, atheism, and science. Or you can doubt both. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. (1) "Official channels" of knowledge. Publishers. Retail booksellers. Education. Media. Science, philosophy, art. (2) "Unofficial channels" of knowledge. Word of mouth. Internet. --- 6/25/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. (1) Broadcasting. What gets on the air in the commercial media? Shows that make money get on the air in the commercial media. Who decides which stories get on the news in commercial media? Editors, who report to corporate boards, decide which stories get on the news in commercial media. (2) Journalism. What gets printed in the commerical media? Which writers and editors get hired by commercial media? What stories get assigned and accepted in commercial media? In commercial media, writers and editors who appeal to the audience and advertisers of the paper get hired because they make money for the newspaper. (3) Commercial media has major flaws. Commercial media has systemic problems. Commercial media is not the best nor only system of media. A person cannot find out what they need to know from commercial media. Independent media is vitally important to provide much needed information to the public. Support independent media with your money and time. Get your news from independent media. (4) Academia. Who gets the job positions in academia? Job positions bring money. Job positions bring power. Jobs mean money and power. Jobs are often given to cohorts, chums, allies, cronies, friends. (4) Bookstores. Which books are put on the shelves? Books that sell are put on the shelves. Who makes buying decisions for the bookstore? Managers make buying decisions and their interests and motivation are often primarily profits. (5) The general trend is that people who are out to protect their own self interests form a bourgeois bulwark that affects what information is available to the public. Unfortunately, it is common that truth and justice get subverted by money and power. --- 1/1/2007
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. (1) The term "sociology of knowledge" at best should be called "sociology of information" or even "sociology of propaganda" because false ideas, lies and sub-optimal ideas spread as much as true ideas, healthy ideas, optimal ideas. (2) Sociology of knowledge includes the economics of ideas. Ideas are pitched (marketed and advertised). Ideas are sold. (3) Sociology of knowledge includes the politics of ideas. Attempts are made by power holders to enforce ideas. Attempts are made by power holders to censor and prohibit ideas. Ideas in and of themselves have a type of power. Ideas are a vector for political power struggles. --- 6/24/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. Epistemology today is more about social phenomena like journalism, the media, the Internet and search engines. (2) Even science is a social phenomenon. (3) Even the individual uses social tactics for truth-seeking, including "reality checks" with friends by asking questions like, "Did you just see what I saw?" and "Don't you think so?" --- 9/19/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. How do you spread ideas? How do you get people to change their minds? How do you get people to feel differently about things. (1) First step, get the idea to the people. Expose the idea to the people. Use the media. Use the press. (2) It should be a good idea. It should be epistemologically true. It should be ethically good. It should be better than existing competing ideas that are already out there. (3) Persuasive arguments help. Self evident ideas are helpful. (4) The time is right. The idea is ripe. Right time and place. Step by step. (5) This is useful in political discussions. (A) Grass roots change view of masses. (B) Change view of law makers. (6) Make it official. (7) This is also about the sociology of knowledge. Memes. (8) To sum up: Get a good idea. Make it free. Make it fun. Make it obvious. Make it a no-brainer. Make it quick and easy. --- 6/26/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. How you communicate knowledge makes a difference. (1) Myths. Fables (stories with morals). Oral histories (oral tradition). Folklore. Medicine men. Anecdotes. (2) Abstract ideas, written out. (3) Computers. Instant, searchable, natural language interface, mentors who respond to questions. --- 4/28/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. Knowledge and politics are related. People push their versions of truth in order to gain power in order to fulfill their interests. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. People hog knowledge as a power ploy in two ways. (1) Secret knowledge: they keep to themselves. (2) Pay knowledge: they will let you have the knowledge if you pay them first. (3) I am for an open society with access to information. --- 5/8/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. Political influences on information. Truth is a political issue. Political groups broadcast their voices and quash their opponents voices. --- 1/1/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. That an idea is new, useful and important does not guarantee that the idea becomes popular and widespread. Many false ideas become popular. The question becomes how to ensure the popularity of good ideas. --- 12/12/2000
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. Three problems. (1) Today the media is corporate owned and thus reflects corporate interests. (2) Religion has the effect of reducing the quantity and quality of critical thinking and inquiry by the public. (3) The public relations industry is a propaganda machine, trying to spin the truth, and trying to counteract the work of the press. --- 1/4/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Sociology of knowledge. Which channels or media have the most viewers or readers? Which channels or media have the most speakers and writers? --- 6/25/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Standards in epistemology. At what point is something considered (1) Good science or bad science, (2) Good reason or bad reason (argument, logic). --- 01/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Standards. Go/no go decisions. Epistemological standards of an individual or society. What do we consider sufficient evidence? What do we consider sound argument, reason, and proof? At what degree of evidence or argument do we make "go or no go" or "accept or reject" decisions? This is where epistemology meets ethics. Mistakes can be made when standards are too high or too low for any situation. --- 09/01/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Standards. Go/no go decisions. The big question is not just what do we consider x degree of evidence or rational argument or proof. The question is also what do we consider sufficient evidence for "go/no go" action decisions. This is an areas where ethics and epistemology meet. Sometimes you don't have full knowledge and must act anyway. Decision theory and game theory. --- 08/21/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Standards. How many ideas a person accepts as true or not, and why (i.e. gullibility). Types of standards: direct observation only, vs. from informed sources, vs. hearsay or rumors. Smallest children accepts parents word as true without thinking about it. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Statements (an assertion is a type of a speech act). Propositions and conclusions. Questions, and answers. Commands. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Statements. (1) Logical statements (math and logic). (2) Empirical statements (science). (3) Belief statements (religion). (4) Everything else (philosophy). Different ways of saying same thing (art). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Strong belief and strong doubt vs. wonder belief and wonder doubt. (1)(A) Strong doubt: To think false. To strongly believe not x. To think not x. Doubt based on evidence vs. doubt based on no evidence. (B) Strong belief: To think true. To strongly think x. (2)(A) Wonder doubt: To think perhaps false. To wonder if not x. To have one's doubts about something. To sense something is wrong somewhere. (B) Wonder belief: To think perhaps true. To wonder if x. To wonder if it is possible. Possibility. --- 12/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Subjective (personal) views vs. objective (consensus of masses or critics) views. You can be wrong, or they can be wrong. But the epistemological search for truth parallels the ethical search for goodness and the aesthetic search for beauty and high artistic value. The individual judges what is best for them. The group makes a group decision. --- 1/3/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Technology and epistemology. Diagnostic thinking. Medical diagnosis. Technical troubleshooting, for example, by car mechanics or computer repair persons. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Testing. Test the results to ensure the accuracy of the results. Check your results. --- 7/19/2006
Philosophy, epistemology. --- The "Watergate" view of epistemology: Who is the knower? What did he know? When did he know it? --- 6/12/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- The big question is, what ideas should be grouped in the following categories. (1) Thinking: manipulating images and words. Can be logical or not. (2) Logic: following proper form or rules like "If, then" and "Because, therefore". Can be true or not. (3) Epistemology: specific arguments. Must be logical and true. (4) Rhetorical argument. (5) Philosophy of mind. Can deal with other areas beside thought and truth. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- The concept of "scientific trust": the ability to say, "In twenty years science will prove this view to be true, even though we can't prove it now. But I still prefer to believe it now, as opposed to believing in a crappy view that has some evidential support". --- 6/10/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- The epistemology of an individual or society is a combination of (1) Logic standards, (2) Empirical standards, and (3) Investigative methods. --- 5/6/1999
Philosophy, epistemology. --- The Internet search engine is the new epistemological issue for us to deal with. The Internet is all about finding stuff out. --- 11/15/2000
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Theory vs. practice. (1) Practical issues of life: work leisure, health welfare, survival. (2) Theoretical issues of life:. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- There are no uncontroversial, undisputed truths. Epistemological relativism. Epistemological nihilism. Epistemological subjectivity. --- 2/12/2004
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Things we can know about x (see x in general). Proofs for these things, and ways to obtain proof. Ways of thinking. Forms of proof or argument. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Thinking: reason = rational = logical? Is all thinking rational? --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Thought (and speech) should be succinct, exact, and complete (i.e. economical). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- To change for better you must know both the theoretical (ideals, goals, what's still wrong), and the practical (situation, problems, what's right). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth = sum of truths. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth and its relation to logic, science, common-sense, ethics and aesthetics. (1) Logically true. A statement can be logical without being true. For example, "If pigs can fly then we will have to build pig airports". However, when we say an idea is "true by dint of logic" we mean that, as in math, it is true because of the rules of the game we have created. However, mistakes are made when we think that one kind of logic applies to a situation when in fact another type of logic applies to a situation. (2) Scientific truth. Truth derived from observation or experiment. (3) "Common-sense" truth or "obvious" truth. Once it was obvious that the world was flat. Today we know better. (4) Truth and ethics. People often say "X is true" when they mean "X is good". They may counter by saying "It is true that X is good", but that is really the same as saying "X is good". (5) Truth and aesthetics. Truth and art. Is there such a thing as aesthetic or artistic truth? Is it the truth of fiction? Or are all aesthetic matters merely opinion and taste? --- 1/14/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth and knowledge. (1) in logic and math. Proof. (2) In science: evidence. (3) In philosophy: argument. (4) In art: understanding, interpretation, discourse, conversation, emotion, sensation, imagination. (5) In everyday life: speculation, guesses. (6) In neurosis: myth, magic and religion. --- 2/15/2003
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth and meaning. (1) Is truth required for knowledge? Yes. (2) Is truth required for meaning? No. False sentences have meaning but not truth. (3) Is meaning required for truth? If you are talking about words then yes, a sentence must have meaning to be true. If you are talking about the facts of reality then no, because things can be true (exist) without having meaning. --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth and meaning. (1) Meaning in the visual arts. Can a picture have meaning? How? What kind of meaning can a picture have? (2) Meaning in music. What kind of meaning can music have? (3) Truth in the visual arts. Can we say a picture is true? How so? Is it true if it accurately depicts a past event? (4) Truth in music. Can we say a piece of music is true? How so? --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth is a function of logic and language. --- 06/01/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth is a logical relation. 100% truth is a mirror image, a virtual duplicate, i.e., the thing itself. Words cannot equal the thing. Words cannot give 100% truth. --- 6/3/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth is comprised of (1) The facts (physical reality), and (2) The principles (abstract reality of ideas). --- 11/10/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth makes things easier in the long run. --- 12/14/1988
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth of ideas vs. epistemological importance of ideas. Epistemological importance is not an ethical concept. Epistemological importance is the logical place of a statement in an argument structure, and the power of a statement in an argument structure. Some statements clinch an argument, other statements are just frills. --- 10/30/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth of object vs. of truth of subject. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth of the way things are (metaphysical), the way things should be (ethical). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth of what was and wasn't. Truth of what is and isn't. Truth of what will be and won't be. Truth of what could be and can't be. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth results from right reason and correct perception. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth, types of. (1) Truth in math. (2) True by definition. (3) Necessary truths. (4) Logical truth. --- 5/18/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth, types of. (1) Truth of a sentence. (2) Truth of a work of art, even if its a work fiction. --- 5/18/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. (1) The expression "X is true" as meaning "X exists" or "X is real" is a metaphysical claim. (2) The expression "X is true" about a math expression or a natural language expression or a formal logic expression or a computer language expression, is an epistemological claim. --- 5/18/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. (1) Truth as verification using logic and science. (2) Wisdom as ethical knowledge and judgment. (3) Smarts as having good problem solving skills, puzzle solving skills, heuristics, and being good at attaining goals. Also being good at problem posing. (4) Taste as aesthetics. --- 11/16/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. (1) Truth of a statement, of a perception, or of a thought. (2) Complete truth vs. partial or half truths. (3) Importance of a truth: important truths vs. trivial truths. (4) Truths by perspective. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. (1) Types of truth: metaphysical truths, epistemological truths, ethical truths, aesthetic truths. (2) Levels or degrees of truth: truest to least true. (3) Ways to find a truth.. (4) Truths on subject x. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Coherence: fits in with other ideas. Pragmatic: works well in practice. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Enduring vs. momentary truths. Classic enduring truths (or beauty) vs. arbitrary fashion, taste, fads, and norms. The former is important, the latter is not. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Face the truth. The truth will set you free. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Hierarchy of truth. (1) Logical truth (ex. math proofs). (2) Scientific truth. (3) Artistic truth. (A) Emotionally true. (B) Metaphorically true. --- 6/3/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. It is a big world with many facts to know. It is tough to know them all. --- 11/10/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. It is logical. It makes sense in and of itself. It fits in with other ideas. It works in practice. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Levels: more true; less true; less false; more false. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Many truths. Many true statements. Almost an infinite number of true statements about the world. --- 3/22/2007
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. The expression "The whole truth and nothing but the truth" is meant to guard against half-truths (secrets) and additional fabrications (lies). --- 5/18/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. The objective truth vs. the subjective truths (and beauty). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. The painful, awful, horrible, terrible, cold, hard, difficult, mind warping truth. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. True for me. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Two types of truth. (1) Truth of an idea (in your head). The variance between an idea (in your head) and reality. (2) Truth of a sentence (on paper). The variance between what the sentence describes and reality. (3) "Meaning" has to do with the relationship between an idea in your head and a sentence on a piece of paper. (4) There are degrees, from 0% to 100%, of correspondence or accuracy for all three of the above relationships. (Idea-reality. Sentence-reality. Idea-sentence.) (5) "Meaning" between people (i.e., mind idea <-> sentence <-> mind idea) is another matter entirely. --- 5/22/2002
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Two views on truth. (1) The truth will naturally come out and conquer. vs. (2) you have to push to get the truth out. The more you push, the quicker truth gets out, and the quicker change occurs. --- 08/24/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Types of truth. (1) Obvious vs. inobvious. (2) Powerful vs. trivial. (3) Simple vs. complex. (4) Pleasant vs. painful. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Types of truth. (1) True but unrecognized (un-thought) and un-said. (2) True but un-argued. No persuasive theory. (3)(A) The true but scientifically unproven as of yet. (B) The true but scientifically un-proveable. (4) Undiscovered really means unproven. Or it can mean unperceived. --- 8/8/1998
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Types of truth. (1) What is commonly accepted as true by the masses, mainstream academia, and debated issues in academia. (2) Truth an individual needs to live. (3) All the truth in the world. Simple vs. complex. Obvious vs. inobvious. --- 08/24/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truth. Various (abnormal) uses of the word truth. (1) Metaphysical truth is the facts. (2) Ethical truth is what is good. (3) Aesthetic truth is what is beautiful? (4) Epistemological truth is ? --- 11/10/1997
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truths for current situation (momentary truths). Truths for all time and places (universal, classic). Sometimes the former is more vitally important than the latter. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truths no one will say. (1) Truths no one will tell you, because they don't know them, and perhaps couldn't figure out even if they tried. (2) Truths they could tell you but don't, because it is not in their interests to. (3) Truths they did not say because they don't know you needed to hear them (you didn't ask). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truths of universe, earth, human life, and modern human life. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Truths you can't face, and truths you refuse to look for. (see repression and curiosity/creativity). --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Two branches of epistemology. (1) Theory, argument, logic. (2) Evidence, facts. --- 5/30/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Two types of epistemology. (1) Subject oriented epistemology thinks in terms of different subject areas. Medicine, law, journalism, etc., all use field specific epistemological techniques to get at the truth. (2) Task oriented epistemology thinks in terms of different tasks and the epistemological techniques we use to get at truth to achieve a goal. Examples, hunting, finding one's way home, finding a mate, etc. --- 5/17/2000
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Type 1 error: rejecting truth. Type 2 error: accepting falsity. --- 9/10/1994
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Types of knowledge. When we talk about how humans gain knowledge about the world we are talking about math, science, philosophy and art. These subjects are different ways of knowing about the world. These subjects produce different types of knowledge. If you are going to define epistemology as the philosophical study of knowledge, then one of the first steps is to recognize that different modes of thinking produce different types of knowledge. See also: Math. See also: Science. See also: Philosophy. See also: Arts. --- 5/14/2007
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Types or methods of inquiry: science, philosophy and art. All relying on reason. Argument and evidence. --- 5/16/2005
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Types. (1) Types of inquiry: philosophy, science, art. (2) Types of knowledge: philosophy, science, art. (3) Types of transmission of knowledge: words, images, music, numbers. (4) Types of lies: pseudo-science, pseudo-philosophy, and pseudo-art. --- 11/10/2001
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Vocabulary of epistemology. (1) Words we use in epistemology, and their relationship to each other: proof, knowledge, truth, explanation, describe, predict, probability, necessity, possible impossible, contingent, etc. (plus all terms from psychology, thinking, and science). (2) Questions about these terms. Views and arguments about these terms. Logical arrangement of these views in a spectrum between poles. --- 06/28/1993
Philosophy, epistemology. --- Vocabulary of epistemology. Delusions, illusions. Inquiry, exploration, discovery. Problems, mistakes. Logic, proof, arguments, rhetoric. Truths, falseness, lies. Ideas, knowledge, thinking, reasoning, learning. Science. Belief, certainty, evidence. Positive, being positive. --- 12/30/1992
Philosophy, epistemology. --- What is epistemology? Epistemology is simply the study of thinking well, which today is considered a branch of psychology. --- 7/19/2006