Cheerskep: Sure. Setting up more smoke screen, I can see. You'll be able to
shoot down all offerings.
Psychology moves ahead by observing results of specific procedures which
occur with a measured probability. Although you may not be able to be
"certain" (or because of that) watch what you touch around a stove.
Geoff C
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: "Certainty"
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 12:06:37 EDT
When I got to Harvard grad school in philosophy, there was a happy event
for
me in the first week. The course was Epistemology, and it was being taught
by
Roderick Firth, internationally recognized at the time as a leading scholar
in
the subject.
Firth wrote four definitions of "certain" on the board, and before he'd put
the chalk down I was on my feet to protest defects in the four. To my
delighted
surprise I discovered I was one of about seven grad students standing up
and
yammering at Firth. As an undergraduate I was usually the only
blabber-mouth
in class. I said to myself about Harvard, "This must be the place!"
The point of the anecdote here: The word 'certainty' is now being used on
the
forum by folks who have not described their notion when they use the word.
Try describing it, gang. You won't find it easy.
The reasons for describing what you have in mind are, first, that, without
making your notion serviceably clear, you may be talking past each other --
i.e.
each has a different idea of what's at issue. Second, you may discover your
unexamined notion is fatally fuzzy.
Unfortunately, it can't be addressed adequately without some technical
considerations -- e.g. the alleged certainty of tautologies, and the
possible
differences between "analytic" and "synthetic" statements.
Still, when you use the word, you tend to think you have a serviceably
clear
notion in mind, so take why not a shot at it?
**************
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