08-06-2018, 12:01 AM
I don't see how this is any different from the last example. I understand that you think you know what you had for breakfast. And I still don't see how that is possible. Memories are not 100% reliable and neither are our perceptions. Thus how can we ever claim to know anything?
When people use the word know, it strikes me that they are saying they are unwilling to consider any evidence to the contrary of whatever it is they claim to know. And, when someone does challenge them they usually seem to invest more energy into holding onto that belief. I don't see a benefit in doing that. I try to always be open to contrary evidence, even if it would be about something as seemingly indisputable as what my name is or what I'm eating right now. Admittedly, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone could present evidence which would be more compelling than that from which I've presently concluded my name is, but why rule it out before looking at it? If it actually does make a strong case that my name is something other than what I think it is, I'd like to see it.
People seem to want to be able to say that they know things. Some people will say they know what the best possible economic policy is for the entire world, others say they know their name. To me that looks like just a difference in scale.
When people use the word know, it strikes me that they are saying they are unwilling to consider any evidence to the contrary of whatever it is they claim to know. And, when someone does challenge them they usually seem to invest more energy into holding onto that belief. I don't see a benefit in doing that. I try to always be open to contrary evidence, even if it would be about something as seemingly indisputable as what my name is or what I'm eating right now. Admittedly, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone could present evidence which would be more compelling than that from which I've presently concluded my name is, but why rule it out before looking at it? If it actually does make a strong case that my name is something other than what I think it is, I'd like to see it.
People seem to want to be able to say that they know things. Some people will say they know what the best possible economic policy is for the entire world, others say they know their name. To me that looks like just a difference in scale.