Hey Graham,
I don't want to jump in on your thread here, but I do want make a quick
comment on something you wrote....
You wrote:
> I think that the difference between belief and knowledge is that knowledge
> requires certainty. Without certainty, all beliefs remain
> as opinions (i.e. contain a measure of uncertainty).
You're so close! The difference between belief and knowledge is merely a
matter of degree. Both are a species of opinion, and opinion is all there
is....
---"Knowledge" is an opinion that has withstood all previous challenges,
though with no guarantee it will always do so in the future. Once
successfully challenged, it is no longer knowledge. I'm sure I don't have
to cite for you the numerous examples of opinions once thought to be
"knowledge" that were later replaced or discarded.
---"Belief" is an opinion that is either unverifiable or still substantially
(if not totally) unsupported by evidence, but thought to be true (by
someone) nonetheless, for some non-evidentiary reason.
Uncertainty is just built into the process. The best opinion we know we
call 'knowledge'. The rest are a sliding scale of 'beliefs' ranging from
the 'totally unsupported' to the 'all but proven'.
Of course, that's just my belief....
Happy New Year,
rick
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