On 9/20/2013 3:53 PM, LizR wrote:
On 21 September 2013 05:48, meekerdb <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
On 9/20/2013 9:53 AM, Bruno Marchal wrote:
Note also that Truth, by definition cannot be Popperian: it is not
falsifiable, of
course. That's a common point with consciousness "here-and-now", which is
not
falsifiable nor doubtable, yet true (except for the zombies of course). OK?
I think that is too quick. First, what Popper meant by falsifiable was
that there
be a test of a theory which we can conceive as having an outcome contrary
to its
prediction. Of course he knew that if the theory were correct the outcome
couldn't
falisify it. The point was that we could only learn something if we didn't
already
know the answer.
Second, that there is a conscious thought may be indubitable WHILE the
thought,
"There is a conscious thought." is present. But it doesn't follow that the
content
of a conscious thought is indubitable. The content might be, "There is a
flying
pink elephant in my room." which is both dubitable and almost certainly
false. And
if the thought is, "I had a conscious thought." that too is dubitable.
The contents of consciousness are doubtable, of course, there might be a malicious demon
or the Matrix or my addled senses or fallible memory involved. What isn't doubtable is
the fact that I am conscious of them - at the time that I am conscious of them
Right. The only indubitable thought you can have is, "There's a thought". You can't
doubt any other thought, like, "I see red.", because doubting is a thought and you can't
think two different conscious thoughts at the same time. You can't think "I see red." AND
"There is doubt this a thought." at the same time. You can have the thought, "There is
doubt that this is a thought.", and your thought would be false.
- at least I can't see how that can be doubted. (This is hardly original of course -
Decartes reached the same conclusion about 500 years ago).
Descarte assumed that there was an "I" having the thought and assumed it proved the
existence of "I".
Brent
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