We're in disagreement for all sorts of reasons...
...not all sorts of people. Moron. — creativesoul
You are equivocating the term "reason" because you are using it in more than one sense in the same argument. This can be easily proven by means of substitution. The same practice will also clearly show that Reason is not a person.
Oh look! There it is directly above! — creativesoul
I don't like the wording here. It doesn't make any sense to say that some state-of-affairs is a truth-maker, as if some state-of-affairs makes some other state-of-affairs called the "truth". Which state-of-affairs are we talking about when using our knowledge - the state-of-affairs that made the truth, or the state-of-affairs that is the truth? Claims don't bear truth if they are wrong.
All you have done is state what makes truth and what bears the truth, but haven't explained what the truth is and how it is made by some state-of-affairs or carried in a claim. — Harry Hindu
If we can't have proof that one's knowledge is actually true, then it is illogical to say "truth" is a property of knowledge. — Harry Hindu
What is "proof"? — Harry Hindu
It seems to me that we can only ever talk about our knowledge, not the actual state-of-affairs. If we say, "I don't know if it is raining", then we're still talking about the state of our knowledge. — Harry Hindu
Her belief represents a state of affairs that has not obtained. Thus her belief is false. However if it were raining (i.e., if that state of affairs had obtained), then her belief would have been true. — Andrew M
How do you guarantee the truth of your claim? Isn't this the same as saying that you'd have to know that your claim is true? In order to guarantee the truth of a claim, you'd have to know the actual state-of-affairs, but you don't know if you do, so how can you say that knowledge entails truth? People use "know" and "knowledge" not to claim truth, but to claim justification for their belief. Since we can't have proof that our beliefs are accurate, we only have proof that our beliefs are justified, we don't use these terms as if they bear truth rather than justifications.No. See above. If Alice's belief were true (i.e., if it were raining), then she would have had knowledge. Yet the justification for her belief (that she looked out the window) did not amount to a proof.
What is "proof"?
— Harry Hindu
A proof is a guarantee of the truth of one's claim. — Andrew M
What if we're brains in vats? How do you know your not a brain in a vat, or hallucinating when you say "It is raining."?In that case yes, but if we say, "It is raining" and it is raining, then we are talking about the actual state of affairs. — Andrew M
First, it is not a mistake to personify Reason. I have now provided - it feels like about 100 times - an argument that demonstrates Reason is a person. There are prescriptions of Reason; only a person can issue a prescription; therefore Reason is a person. — Bartricks
There are prescriptions of shit; only a person can issue a prescription; therefore shit is a person. — creativesoul
A proof is a guarantee of the truth of one's claim.
— Andrew M
How do you guarantee the truth of your claim? — Harry Hindu
In that case yes, but if we say, "It is raining" and it is raining, then we are talking about the actual state of affairs.
— Andrew M
What if we're brains in vats? How do you know your not a brain in a vat, or hallucinating when you say "It is raining."? — Harry Hindu
A proof is a guarantee of the truth of one's claim.
— Andrew M
How do you guarantee the truth of your claim?
— Harry Hindu
You don't. Knowledge doesn't require proof. It requires that one's belief is both justified (a standard that is lower than proof) and true. — Andrew M
"Truth" would be ever-elusive, and we would never know when to use the word, "truth" appropriately because we never have any guarantees (proofs) of what the truth is. — Harry Hindu
Now you just need knowledge of this state-of-affairs called truth in order to make an accurate claim that knowledge entails truth. But you can't because it would require a level or perception that we can never attain - like being the thing you are making a claim about. — Harry Hindu
What if we're brains in vats? How do you know your not a brain in a vat, or hallucinating when you say "It is raining."? — Harry Hindu
No, that's the way you used it in this thread. If we use the word "know" to imply more than just a justification for our belief, but also truth, then we'd need proof that our belief was also true to use the word, "knowledge" correctly. You're trying to have your cake and eat it too.We know when to use the word "truth" when we have a justifiable belief for when to use it and our belief is true.
Note that you keep presuming that one needs a guarantee (proof) in order to know something. But that is an infallibilist definition of knowledge, not the ordinary definition.
So I agree that one can never prove that one has the truth. It doesn't follow that one can never know that one has the truth. That's because the standard for knowledge is an ordinary and pragmatic one, not an infallible and unattainable one. — Andrew M
My definition is the one that would be the "ordinary" definition, as it allows knowledge to be only about justifications, not truth - of which you need proof the claim is true to say that you are using the term "know" correctly. — Harry Hindu
Knowledge requires justification and truth — Andrew M
A proof is a guarantee of the truth of one's claim. — Andrew M
But the only way to know it is true is to have proof. Until you do you don't know when to use the word, "know". If you can't prove your claim is true, then you are misusing the term, "know". If you can't ever show that your claim fits one of the requirements of knowledge, then how can you ever use the term?You don't. Knowledge doesn't require proof. It requires that one's belief is both justified (a standard that is lower than proof) and true. — Andrew M
How do you guarantee that your claim is true? How do you show that your claim is true for it to qualify as using the term "knowledge" correctly? — Harry Hindu
But the only way to know it is true is to have proof. — Harry Hindu
In H2, K2, who is claiming that Alice does not know it is raining, and what proof do they have that their claim is true? — Harry Hindu
That's strange. It was your claim that it is raining, not some state-of-affairs that it actually was raining. How do I know that you are right, when all you have to show is your justifications. If you can make a claim and assert that that is the state-of-affairs stipulated, then somehow you have gained true access to the world. How did you do that?That it's not raining is the state of affairs stipulated in H2. That's prior to any claims. — Andrew M
If there is no guarantee, then you can't know that you ever used the word correctly. There is no way to correct it's use, if you can't guarantee that your use includes the truth.How do you guarantee that your claim is true? How do you show that your claim is true for it to qualify as using the term "knowledge" correctly?
— Harry Hindu
There is no guarantee. Alice can show that her claim is true in H1 by pointing out the window since that is what justifies her belief. She can't show that her claim is true in H2 since her claim is not true in that hypothetical. — Andrew M
You can prove you have justification, but you can't prove you have truth? What do you have to know in order to use a word correctly? Do you agree that word-use can be picked up and used without really knowing what they mean? For instance, when a toddler hears their parent say "Damn it!" when they get angry, and then copy it, do they really know what they are saying? Is there a difference between using words and understanding what words mean? It seems to me that we can use words that appears to be the correct use, because everyone else uses it that way, but there are cases where mass delusions exist and people use the same words like "I know the Earth is flat" without knowing the truth.You're asserting K1 here and the rest of your questions assume it. Knowledge on K2 and K3 does not require proof. They require justification, which Alice has since her belief was formed by looking out the window. Thus she knows it is true in H1 on K2 without proof. Interestingly, she knows it is true in both H1 and H2 on K3 (again without proof). That's because she can have false knowledge on K3. — Andrew M
That's strange. It was your claim that it is raining, not some state-of-affairs that it actually was raining. How do I know that you are right, when all you have to show is your justifications. If you can make a claim and assert that that is the state-of-affairs stipulated, then somehow you have gained true access to the world. How did you do that? — Harry Hindu
If there is no guarantee, then you can't know that you ever used the word correctly. — Harry Hindu
You can prove you have justification, — Harry Hindu
Do you agree that word-use can be picked up and used without really knowing what they mean? — Harry Hindu
Is there a difference between using words and understanding what words mean? — Harry Hindu
It seems to me that we can use words that appears to be the correct use, because everyone else uses it that way, but there are cases where mass delusions exist and people use the same words like "I know the Earth is flat" without knowing the truth. — Harry Hindu
Then your talking about something that no one knows anything about. So how does one get to know it is raining?I didn't. There's a difference between making a claim that it is raining (which I did not do) and presenting a hypothetical within which Alice makes a claim (which I did do). — Andrew M
How can you claim that your belief is true without proof? If you don't need proof that you are using the term correctly, then it seems that thing you don't need proof of isn't a necessary component of "knowledge", or it's not important to know when you're using "know" correctly.You're using the word "know" in the sense of K1 again. On K2, you know that you used a word correctly when you have a justified and true belief that you did. You don't need a guarantee, you just need those conditions to be met. — Andrew M
So how does one get to know it is raining? — Harry Hindu
How can you claim that your belief is true without proof? — Harry Hindu
If you don't need proof that you are using the term correctly, then it seems that thing you don't need proof of isn't a necessary component of "knowledge", or it's not important to know when you're using "know" correctly. — Harry Hindu
If you can't enforce the rules for the use of the term. "knowledge", then that is to say that there aren't any rules when using the term. — Harry Hindu
Exactly. Which is to say that justification is the only requirement for when someone uses the word, "know".How can you claim that your belief is true without proof?
— Harry Hindu
Because it is justifiable to do so - that's the normative rule for when we can make knowledge claims. If we needed proof, no claim could ever be made. — Andrew M
I think we got mixed up again. Are we talking about the state of one's knowledge, or the state of the weather? When the window is being hosed, what is the distinction between, "I know it is raining" and "It is raining."? The latter stems from the prior. You can't say, "It is raining." and say that it is about the weather without having some justification. It would be more like guessing.Now that means that we can sometimes inadvertently make false claims. That is, we can use the word "rain" when there is no rain, which would be a misuse. Normatively, that is okay - we're not infallible and we don't hold anyone to that standard. But veridically, we would have made a mistake. If we have made a mistake then it's not knowledge. That's a logical consequence of the model K2 - it doesn't depend on anyone ever discovering the mistake. — Andrew M
I thought you said that we can't have proof, yet you are now saying that you can have proof retroactively?If you can't enforce the rules for the use of the term. "knowledge", then that is to say that there aren't any rules when using the term.
— Harry Hindu
The only way to enforce the rules upfront is either to require proof (per K1), which makes knowledge unattainable, or to allow false claims to count as knowledge (per K3).
What we do instead is to enforce the rules retroactively (per K2). That is, if we discover a misuse it is retroactively corrected. For example, suppose in H2 Alice later discovers that Bob was hosing water on the window. In that case, she recognizes that she didn't know it was raining at the time, she only thought she did. — Andrew M
Are we talking about the state of one's knowledge, or the state of the weather? — Harry Hindu
When the window is being hosed, what is the distinction between, "I know it is raining" and "It is raining."? — Harry Hindu
The latter stems from the prior. You can't say, "It is raining." and say that it is about the weather without having some justification. It would be more like guessing. — Harry Hindu
I thought you said that we can't have proof, yet you are now saying that you can have proof retroactively? — Harry Hindu
If Alice was using the term in the normative way, then she is using it as I have defined it. The veridical use would be your definition. But you have shown that the veridical use refers to something unattainable, while the normative use refers to having justification only. I think we are pretty much in agreement, it's just you haven't realized it yet. — Harry Hindu
I think we are pretty much in agreement, it's just you haven't realized it yet. — Harry Hindu
How does she know it wasn't raining while Bob was hosing the window? Bob hosing the window isn't justification for it not to have rained earlier.Here's a question for you. In H2, suppose that Alice later discovers that Bob was hosing the window with water. Thus she now knows that it wasn't raining earlier.
Did Alice know that it was raining at the earlier time? — Andrew M
How does she know it wasn't raining while Bob was hosing the window? Bob hosing the window isn't justification for it not to have rained earlier. — Harry Hindu
This goes back to what I said about making objective observations. You seem to be saying that we check our knowledge when we get outside of the thing we are talking about. — Harry Hindu
So, if we know that to really know whether or not is raining is to go outside and look, then looking out the window isn't proper justification for knowing it is raining. If this is the case, then no, Alice didn't know it was, or wasn't raining, because she didn't have proper justification. — Harry Hindu
If all she needs is justification, then yes, Alice knew it was raining and now she knows something different - that it wasn't. — Harry Hindu
If you want to bring up the possibility of Alice hallucinating while outside, how do you retroactively show she is hallucinating - by asking someone else? How do we know that they aren't hallucinating, or lying? — Harry Hindu
If all you can have are justifications and truth is something elusive, then it stands that the only requirement for knowledge is justification. No one can ever know if Alice used the term, "know" correctly, if truth is a requirement for its correct usage, which is the same as saying it isn't a requirement at all. — Harry Hindu
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