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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Rigorous Mortis
Message-ID: <1677@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Sep-85 20:55:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1677
Posted: Thu Sep 12 20:55:09 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Sep-85 05:12:19 EDT
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Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week
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> Rich, I think that one of your assumptions is the standard objectivist [Note
> Small ``o''] definition of knowledge:
> This can be formulated many ways. The way I like best is:
> 	Knowledge is true belief in the light of sufficient evidence.
> Note that this says nothing about what the sufficient evidence is. What it
> says is that if you have sufficient evidence for your belief then you have
> something called knowledge (which is also true.) [LAURA]

What can be shown (at the very least) is what constitutes INsufficient evidence.

> Note that while it is possible [at least in theory] to only have beliefs
> which are consistent with this model, it is not possible to use this 
> definition to test itself absolutely. The best you can do is demonstrate that
> this model is not inherantly inconsistent.
> This  property of consistency can be had in other models. Consider
> 	Knowledge is everything that is written in the Book of Truth.
> Where the first line of the Book of Truth is this definition of Knowledge.
> Again, it is possible [at least in theory] to only have beliefs which are
> consistent with this model.

But we know that the Book (if knowledge were so codified) doesn't begin with
such a statement, nor does it contain such a statement.  Knowledge, and the
methods for acquiring and verifying it, are not simply taken on faith:  they
are used because they consistently work.  It is just common sense built on
more common sense built on still more common sense.
-- 
"iY AHORA, INFORMACION INTERESANTE ACERCA DE... LA LLAMA!"
	Rich Rosen    ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr