CertaintyIt distinguishes knowledge from belief.

What´s the difference between Believing X and Knowing X?

Know – be certain about the truth of X and have no doubts about it.

Believe – think that X is true but are no certain about it.

Are you 100% sure you know the things

you just listed?

Why?

Language It enables us to acquire knowledge from other people. However, the authority of other people is not always a reliable source of knowledge… even experts!!!

How can we be sure?

PerceptionKnowledge is mostly based on personal experience, but our senses deceive us sometimes.

Color blind test

ReasonReason gives us greater certainty than our senses. In practice, however, people do not seem to be very good at abstract reasoning and are liable to make all kinds of errors.

False syllogism

EmotionSome of the things that we claim to know strike us as intuitively obvious or are based on our gut feelings. …but what is intuitively obvious for me may not be to you, and feelings are just not a sure guide to the truth.

Conflicting intuitions on

important issues

René Descartes

Initially, Descartes arrives at only a single principle: thought exists. Thought cannot be separated from me, therefore, I exist

Therefore, Descartes concluded, if he doubted, then something or someone must be doing the doubting, therefore the very fact that he doubted proved his existence.

Descartes states that he can be certain that he exists because he thinks. But in what form?

He perceives his body through the use of the senses; however, these have previously been unreliable. So Descartes determines that the only indubitable knowledge is that he is a thinking thing. Thinking is his essence as it is the only thing about him that cannot be doubted. To further demonstrate the limitations of the senses, Descartes proceeds with what is known as the Wax Argument.

He considers a piece of wax; his senses inform him that it has certain characteristics, such as shape, texture, size, color, smell, and so forth. When he brings the wax towards a flame, these characteristics change completely. However, it seems that it is still the same thing: it is still a piece of wax, even though the data of the senses inform him that all of its characteristics are different. Therefore, in order to properly grasp the nature of the wax, he cannot use the senses. He must use his mind.

In this manner, Descartes proceeds to construct a system of knowledge, discarding perception as unreliable and instead admitting only deduction as a method.

As a result of his Cartesian doubt, he viewed rational knowledge as being "incapable of being destroyed" and sought to construct an unshakable ground upon which all other knowledge can be based. The first item of unshakable knowledge that Descartes argues for is the aforementioned cogito, or thinking thing.

Evaluate the certainty of the four WoK’s.

Which of the AoK’s is, in your opinion a

better access to truth?

“All truth is relative.”

“Really? Is that true.” “Yes!”

“Absolutely true?”“I guess not

because I said that all truth is relative.”

“So the statement ‘All truth is relative’

is only relatively true! Right?”

“Yes!”“So it could be true for you and not true

for me?”

“Hang on! I need to think about this…”

•No absolute truth.•Truth is not independent from the individual who thinks about something being true.•Truth is different among individuals, and cultures.•There is no ‘true’ or ‘false’ but ‘true for me’ or ‘false for you’•All points of view are of equal value.

• Believing something to be true is not enough for it to be actually true.• Relativism establishes a vicious circle, there is no apparent way out.

Santa Claus cannot ‘exist’ and ‘not exist’ at

the same time.

Is Scepticism a better alternative than Relativism?

Judgement

Scepticism

.

Relativism

Judgement

Scepticism

A ‘healthy’ Scepticism would keep us from

being gullible.

Relativism

There need to be limits to what we

believe and what we stand for as being

true

Reasonable Knowledge

Evidence

Positive evidence to support it

Evidence for and against our point

If you can’t prove something as not

true, doesn’t mean it is true (FALLACY)

Argument ad ignorantiam

Coherence

Does X fit with my understanding of

things?

The more unlikely to be possible, the

stronger the evidence should be

Which is less likely to be true?a) The existence of the Loch Ness monsterb) Some mystics are able to levitateEXPLAIN AND GIVE REASONS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f36Rhh0FsgE&feature=related

Voltaire“People who believe absurdities will commit atrocities.”

To what extent is Voltaire's opinion true? Give examples and counter-examples.