2/3 WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE?: Epistemology, Skepticism and the Theory of Knowledge

Texts for Mon Feb 3rd:

1. Plato, "Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic

2. Sean Elling, "Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? I Don't Know. Probably."

3. Terms to Be Familiar With

Epistemology ­ The rational analysis of knowledge and claims to know. 

Realism ­ The idea that reality exists, and that it exists as what it is independently of human perception. 

Näive Realism ­ The idea that things are exactly as they appear to be to human perception. 

Idealism ­ The idea that ideas (or concepts or abstract mathematical structures or ratios or ‘information’ ) are more real that material reality (information or conceptual form or that Mind precedes physical manifestation). In quantum physics there is a saying: ‘BIT before IT” 

Materialism ­ The metaphysical principle that to be real means to be material ­ i.e. there is no non­physical reality. ­ denies non­physical soul or ‘life before birth/after death. 

Nihilism ­ The idea that there’s no “outside” of the Cave of human perceived reality, no “real” reality or real “truth,” other than our perceptions, which have no objectively definable validity. 

Cognitive Dissonance ­ The condition of not being able to perceive or understand or adequately judge things which contradict one’s current worldview or paradigm. 

Truth ­ Intelligibility, the light that illuminates Being, what allows us to see the meaning of things as they are. 

Wisdom ­ Leaving the cave, leaving ignorance, fear, denial, manipulation, coercion - a state of being fully awake, and beyond the tragic comedy of human cave life - unshakable peace, total absence of inner conflict. 

Philosophy ­ the Love of Wisdom (as opposed to loving the appearance of being wise) 

Skepticism ­ The attitude of holding one’s beliefs open to being changed or even reversed or discarded based on experience that challenges them. 

Dogmatism ­ Holding one’s beliefs as true without ever questioning or testing their truth or validity. 

Humanism ­The idea that ‘human beings are the measure of truth’ that there is no truth beyond human reality. 

Transpersonalism ­ The idea that our true Self is not merely personal or egocentric, but a shared self, a single Infinite Mind encompassing both other humans but all living beings. 

Problem of Induction ­ All empirical knowledge (theory) is based on past experience, but makes predictions about future experience. But future experiences cannot be proved to be true. So, are any predictions about the future rationally justified? 

Perennial Wisdom ­ (coined by Aldous Huxley) refers to the idea that Truth is One and that all great religious and mystical experiences and movements are expressions of a single truth. 

Video on the Copernican Revolution