PP111 Lecture 7: Knowledge and Certainty
Document Summary
Justification: a rational relationship between beliefs, sentences, or propositions. Certainty: one can be certain in a particular proposition if it follows deductively from other certain propositions or is self- justifying. Descartes and geometric method: descartes thought that geometry was the benchmarks demonstrative science, if we have any faith that our beliefs are true, we have to show how they deductively follow. The idols of the mind: these are what we now would call biases. Idols of the tribe: the human tendency to see more order in phenomena than there are actually is: e. g. Idols of the cave: individuals or idiosyncratic biases, normally associated with our peculiar and particular preferences, experiences and education. Idols of the marketplace: confessions associated with the misuse (careless and uncritical) use of language, both in communicative exchange. Idols of the theatre: being uncritical and following the play on stage (what has. Thursday, november 2, 2017 been said by authorities before)
