The Epistemological Problem.

by Blueblades 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  Blueblades

  "Epistemology is that branch of philosophy which addresses the question: 'How do we know what we think we know? How do we know anything? The epistemological problem is that philosophers have never succeeded in answering the question. Many in the nineteenth century thought the answer lay in science. We could know things for certain through the scientific method... Perhaps the single most important discovery of modern science has been that there are limits to scientific inquiry. With a few ifs, ands, and buts, there is no more real certainty to be found in science than in theology. Yet uncertainty breeds anxiety. It is scary when our best minds are those who best know that they don't know." M. Scott Peck, M.D. The Road Less Traveled and Beyond.

  What do you think? Have philosophers never succeeded in answering the question: "How do we know what we think we know? How do we know anything?

  Next up "Thinking".

  Blueblades
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  SixofNine

  "Perhaps the single most important discovery of modern science has been that there are limits to scientific inquiry."

  What a fatuous thing to say.

  "With a few ifs, ands, and buts, there is no more real certainty to be found in science than in theology."

  Hogwash.

  "Have philosophers never succeeded in answering the question: "How do we know what we think we know? How do we know anything?"

  It was never up to philosophers to answer that question in the first place; it's a scientific question, not a philosophical one. And yes, science does a pretty good job of answering, and even factors in uncertainty.
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  Paralipomenon

  Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum
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  hamsterbait

  Before we can find any demonstrably true answers to such questions, we must

  1: Define the meaning of "what". What is "WHAT"?

  2: Answer the question: is "is" is in the true sense of the word?

  3: Define "true" in a meaningful way, such that the above questions when answered, can be seen to satisfy this criterion.

  HB
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  JeffT

  In a college physics class I took the prof said (discussing quantum mechanics) "the more we find out, the more we realize the Budhists are right: the physical universe doesn't exist."