2 ms·

The study of this is called https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology

by ivank 12y ago

k_sze 12y ago
Exactly. This is a problem of epistemology. There is a less fancy name for it: Theory of Knowledge. For starters, bear these two sentences in mind whenever you find yourself asking whether something is true or false: 1. Knowledge is justified true belief. 2. "How do you know?" Number 1 tells you upfront that knowledge is belief. But it's not just any kind of belief. It is belief that you can justify to be true. Note how we don't say "knowledge is truth" (because knowledge only holds for as long as it cannot be demonstrated to be false). There are, of course, different kinds of knowledge, which have different levels of justification. E.g. pure mathematics is a kind of knowledge with the highest level of justification because conjectures can be proven or disproven and there is no dispute (unless you make a mistake in your proof, but then peer review will catch your mistake, unless the peers have been drinking...) Number 2 is just an easier formulation of number 1. You use this question recursively until you start to feel you are being absurd or silly. E.g. Tommy told me he saw a police shoot Michael Brown. How do I know this is true? Because Tommy is trustworthy. How do I know Tommy is trustworthy? Because Tommy is my friend and would never lie to me. How do I know Tommy would never lie to me? Because I have known him for X years and everything he has said in the past have turned out to be largely true. Etc. ad nauseum. If you happen to know anybody doing or having done the IB diploma, you can ask them about ToK (Theory of Knowledge), because ToK is a required subject in the IB diploma. They may put on a smug smile for a few seconds and start talking. (I did IB diploma myself.) In fact you'll give them good practice to get better at ToK.

The study of this is called https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology

by ivank 12y ago

The study of this is called https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology

k_sze 12y ago

Exactly. This is a problem of epistemology. There is a less fancy name for it: Theory of Knowledge. For starters, bear these two sentences in mind whenever you find yourself asking whether something is true or false: 1. Knowledge is justified true belief. 2. "How do you know?" Number 1 tells you upfront that knowledge is belief. But it's not just any kind of belief. It is belief that you can justify to be true. Note how we don't say "knowledge is truth" (because knowledge only holds for as long as it cannot be demonstrated to be false). There are, of course, different kinds of knowledge, which have different levels of justification. E.g. pure mathematics is a kind of knowledge with the highest level of justification because conjectures can be proven or disproven and there is no dispute (unless you make a mistake in your proof, but then peer review will catch your mistake, unless the peers have been drinking...) Number 2 is just an easier formulation of number 1. You use this question recursively until you start to feel you are being absurd or silly. E.g. Tommy told me he saw a police shoot Michael Brown. How do I know this is true? Because Tommy is trustworthy. How do I know Tommy is trustworthy? Because Tommy is my friend and would never lie to me. How do I know Tommy would never lie to me? Because I have known him for X years and everything he has said in the past have turned out to be largely true. Etc. ad nauseum. If you happen to know anybody doing or having done the IB diploma, you can ask them about ToK (Theory of Knowledge), because ToK is a required subject in the IB diploma. They may put on a smug smile for a few seconds and start talking. (I did IB diploma myself.) In fact you'll give them good practice to get better at ToK.