lecture 15: certainty
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Lecture 15: Certainty. In Today’s Lecture we will: Review Hume’s radical empiricism and its consequences Outline and investigate Kant’s theory of knowledge: Transcendental Idealism Discuss whether Kant’s theory overcomes Hume’s radical empiricism - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
LECTURE 15: CERTAINTY
TODAYS LECTUREIn Todays Lecture we will:
Review Humes radical empiricism and its consequences
Outline and investigate Kants theory of knowledge: Transcendental Idealism
Discuss whether Kants theory overcomes Humes radical empiricism
Conclude our investigation into the theory of knowledge
RECAP: DAVID HUME
DAVID HUMEDavid Humes Phenomenalism
All knowledge is derived from and limited to appearances
Appearances are presented to us in our perceptions
Perceptions can be divided between
ImpressionsLively, Vivid Sensations
IdeasPale impressions / copies
All ideas are derived from impressions
All the mind possesses is a collection of perceptions
DAVID HUMEDavid Humes Phenomenalism
There are two types of knowledge:
Relations of IdeasIdeas that are intuitively or demonstratively certain
E.g. Geometry, Arithmatic, Logic, Algebra etc.
Matters of FactIdeas that pertain to the world
E.g. The sun will rise tomorrow, This chair is red, etc.
DAVID HUMEDavid Humes attack against abstract knowledge
Empirical (all) knowledge can only be either:
Necessarily true but not informativeOrInformative but not certain
All ideas are derived from appearances
Any idea we have that is NOT derived from appearances should be abandoned
DAVID HUMEAccording to Hume we must abandon the following abstract concepts:
The concept of causationWe never perceive a necessary cause; only succession and contiguity
The selfWhen we reflect we never find a thinking thing; only many different perceptions
The concept of substanceWe never perceive substance
Furthermore:
All scientific knowledge is informative but not certain
We must recognize how limited our perceptions are and limit our knowledge accordingly
KANT
IMMANUEL KANTOutline:
Lived 1724-1804
Represents an important turning point in epistemology
Wrote the Critique of Pure Reason in response to Humes radical empiricism
IMMANUEL KANTPrelude to Kants theory of knowledge:
Kant was heavily influenced by Humes radical empiricism
I openly confess my recollection of David Hume was the very thing which many years ago first interrupted my dogmatic slumber and gave my investigations in the field of speculative philosophy a quite new direction
(Textbook, p.232)
IMMANUEL KANTKant maintains the following:
Kant rejects the empiricist claim that the mind is a blank-slate
He also rejects the rationalist claim that we possess innate ideas
Unlike Hume Kant claims we can be certain that:
Every event must have a cause
Substance exists
The self exists
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
A Priori
Independent of senses
Universal
CertainA Posteriori
Derived from sense experience
Specific
Not certainKANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEA Priori
Independent of senses
A Posteriori
Derived from sense experience
Analytic
True by definition
No relevance to realitySynthetic
Not logically certainKants understanding of knowledge
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEActivity: List any knowledge that corresponds to the following categories:
Synthetic a posteriori KnowledgeThe room is redThe moon is 2159 miles in diameter
Analytic a priori knowledgeAll bachelors are unmarried menA triangle is a three sided closed shape
Analytic a posteriori Knowledge
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEThe search for synthetic a priori knowledge
Kant wants knowledge which is certain, not derived from experience, and still informative
It must be both Synthetic and a priori
Informative, not just true by definitionNecessary & UniversalThe big question is whether such knowledge exists!
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGETraditional theories of knowledge
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEKants Copernican Revolution
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEKants theory of knowledge
Synthetic a priori (SAP) knowledge is not derived from experience
SAP is the basis for experience
SAP defines how we experience
Our minds possess innate structures called categories of the understanding
UnityPluralityTotalityRelations of substance and characteristics of substanceRelations of cause and effectRelations of reciprocity
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGESpace and Time
Space and Time are both a priori conditions for all experience
ALL objects must be in space and time to be experienced
Kant maintains that space and time are contributed by our minds
We can have no knowledge of an object which is not in space or time
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEKants disagreement with Hume:
Hume maintained that belief in the following is irrational:
CausalityThe selfSubstance
For Kant these concepts are not only certainly true; They must be true!
They are universal and necessary for experience
If they were not true then we would not be able to have experience
KANTS THEORY OF KNOWLEDGESummary:
Unlike Hume Kant maintains that we can have knowledge which is both informative and certain: Synthetic a priori knowledge
Such knowledge is universal and necessary
Without it experience would not be possible
Kants Copernican revolution makes humans, not the world, the central focus of epistemology
Our minds create the conditions necessary to experience the world
Space and TimeCategories of the Understanding
CONCLUSION TO TOPIC
TOPIC CONCLUSION
RationalistsPlatoDescartesChomsky
EmpiricistsAristotleAquinasLockeHume
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