Saturday, February 3, 2007
1. The evil demon
The basis of argument and reason has to be our ability to rationalize. If we are able to rationalize our thoughts in whatever realm we are in, whether controlled by an evil demon or not, then these thoughts must be the truth. If we are certain of this evil demon's dominion over us, then we must be able to know that this truth we believe now, in what forms it manifests, may change its state later. This knowledge is now the truth behind the truth, and it is what we must apply when we rationalize our arguments later.
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6 comments:
There are 3 sources of valid knowledge, of which reason is one. The most valid is experience. It is also the most important.
This is a nice blog. I like it!
Do you know if you are delusioned? Do delusioned people know if they have been delusionised? If not, how can you be sure if your truth is not the delusionised truth? That is my stand. Thank you for creating this blog! its brilliant! Can you post the actual 100 thought experiments on your blog please?
Regards,
Roi
We cannot be sure that the way we reason is the "right" way of reasoning. (what with some demon altering our reasoning processes)
But the only way to make logical sense of anything is to trust that very way we reason beyond all doubt, for if we do not, everything would break down into nonsense.
Thus, we bear in mind the possibility that our reasoning may be flawed from a universal perspective, but in this little world of ours, it serves us well enough that we trust it.
Hi alqx. Yes, we can only be sure of our action if they are beyond doubt. But also our reasoning is inclined to benefit us or protect us from loss or pain. So sometimes we do things which seem to us to be logical but in fact result in harm to others. A simple case is the persecution of a race of people. We need to step back from the situation and see the big picture.
I don't think we should be sure of our actions beyond doubt. No, I think the opposite - we should always question our reasoning, actions, plans etc. to spot any mistakes or misconceptions.
There is no point of being sure of our actions beyond doubt - either there is a mistake, and then we would fail to spot it, or there isn't a mistake, and then we would end up the same had we thought rationally. Either way, it is always atleast as good to think with an open mind as being sure of our actions beyond doubt.
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