Re: MD Squonk wrote a Review

From: jhmau (jhmau@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Mar 25 2003 - 19:03:57 GMT

  • Next message: johnny moral: "Re: MD Burden of Proof"

    On 24 March 2003 10:13 AM Matt EE writes to Squonk:

    Matt;
    I think you've confused the philosophical position of the skeptic with some
    other heuristic strawman, perhaps a nihilist. The epistemological skeptic
    I'm referring to wants to know how you know. For instance, if you say,
    "Essay A is better than essay B," the skeptic will hound you with question
    after question of, "How do you know?" He is skeptical about your
    certainty. An easily refuted position would be the person who denies that
    he cannot distinguish between varying levels of value. The more difficult
    person to tangle with is the one who questions your certainty, especially
    certainty about intuited entities.

    Hi Matt EE, Squonk, and All,

    joe: we seem to be circling the same questions: "How do I know? Am I
    certain?"

    I am! Of that I am certain!

    I act! I am not certain why, but everyone else is certain that I did it.

    I know! Pirsig points to the same mechanism we use for experiencing
    existence and purpose, to be used for knowledge, namely, intuition or
    instinct.

    If a skeptic questions the certainty of my existence or actions what can we
    communikcate about? Why does the skeptic hound me with questions about the
    certainty of my knowledge? Maybe the skeptic is looking for proof, or has a
    sour stomach. In any case unless I start somewhere, communication is
    fruitless.

    If I start from 'abstraction' I will theorize that I have a mind and body.
    My experience is subjective and objective. The skeptic replies: "I can't
    get inside of you!"

    If I start from 'belief' I say that I have had a revelation, or I learned it
    at my mother's knee. The skeptic replies: "I don't know your mother! I am
    alone in my world and I have not done the same things!"

    If I start from intuition, instinct, quality I ask: "Do you have the same
    experience? Can we talk about it?"

    Joe

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