Lesson 5: Knowledge & Truth
METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
People are already relying on knowledge for their survival.
Without knowledge of how to create a fire, how to cook one’s food, how to build a shelter, how to build dams to control flooding, how to create laws to preserve order in society, and yes even how to think properly, we would still be in a prehistoric cave.
Knowledge literally enabled mankind to survive and reach the present level of our civilization.
WHAT IS EPISTEMOLOGY?
“Epistemology is a science devoted to the discovery of the proper method of acquiring and validating knowledge” (Rand 1990)
The purpose of epistemology therefore is two-fold:
To show how we can acquire knowledge.
To give us a method of demonstrating whether the knowledge we acquired is really knowledge (i.e., true).
The Nature of Knowledge
Knowledge
the clear awareness and understanding of something.
it is provided by facts
it is based on reality
it is observable and evident in the real world
How is Knowledge acquired?
We can acquire knowledge using our senses (Empiricism)
Empiricists:
John Locke
George Berkley
David Hume
We can acquire knowledge by thinking with the use of our minds (what philosophers call the rational faculty) (Rationalism); knowledge comes from intellectual reasoning.
Rationalists:
Rene Descartes
Baruch Spinoza
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Process of Acquiring Knowledge
Reality
To know is to know something. This “something” is what philosophers call reality, existence, and being.
Existence is everything there is (another name for it is the Universe). It includes (animals, plants, human beings, inanimate objects) and everything inside our heads (e.g., our thoughts and emotions) which represents our inner world.
Existence is all there is to know. If nothing exists knowledge is impossible.
Perception
Our first and only contact with reality is through our senses.
Knowledge begins with perceptual knowledge.
Concept
“an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Proposition
Statements about the world or reality are called propositions
Propositions may or may not carry the truth.
Facts-propositions or statements observed to be real and truthful
Claim-proposition that requires further examination; can be contested
Argument
Series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader/ listener that a claim/ opinion is truthful. Group of statements that serve to support a conclusion.
“There is no hope in the Philippine government”
(opinion)
“There is no hope in the Philippine government because many officials are corrupt, and Filipino voters continue to elect them.” (argument)
DOMAINS OF TRUTH
Objective domain: related to scientific truths; pertains to the natural world that maintains relative independence from the perspective and attitude of human beings that perceive them.
EG: TYPHOON SEASON, WATER’S BOILING POINT (100 DEGREES CELSIUS)
Social Domain: Truth is related to a general agreement or consensus on what is right as opposed to what is wrong. Based on norms (standard of acceptable behavior in society)
EG: maintaining silence inside the chapel; cheering loudly in a basketball game; being silent in the library
Remember!!! Consensus has certain limitations. It is helpful but not always reliable
Personal Domain: Truth is related to “SINCERITY”; consistent with inner thoughts and intentions needed to establish “trust”
TRUTH AND JUSTIFICATION
TRUTH (according to Richard Rorty)- has passed the “procedures of justification”
JUSTIFICATION is the process of proving the truth or validity of a statement. This process is made up of ways of critically testing a claim against certain criteria.
Each domain of truth has a corresponding justification or has a different criteria for truth:
SCIENTIFIC/ OBJECTIVE DOMAIN - Truths are tested against empirical evidence
Reptiles are cold-blooded.
SOCIAL DOMAIN - Truths are tested against their acceptability to a particular group in a particular time in history
“Don’t talk when your mouth is full!”
PERSONAL DOMAIN - Truths are tested against the consistency and authenticity of the person who claims it
“In sickness and in health, “till death do us part.”
How do we know if something is true?
A belief is true if it can be justified or proven through the use of one’s senses.
A belief or statement is true if it is based on facts
Getting a consensus or having a people agree on a common belief
Truth requires to prove an action
Subject to test to determine the truth
Truth vs Opinion
TRUTH
Truth is knowledge validated based on the facts of reality are independent of your thoughts, feelings or preferences
For example the statement “Jose Rizal died in 1896” is true.
Many sources can validate the truth of that statement if one cared to look.
Characteristics of Truth
Can be confirmed with other sources
Independent of one’s interpretation, preferences, and biases
Based on the facts of reality
OPINION
A statement of judgment of a person about something in the world. Opinions are bases for making arguments and convincing people that a certain claim is a fact.
When one says that “Jose Rizal is the greatest man who ever lived” you are stating your preference and not facts.
That statement represents not facts but an interpretation of facts which may reveal biases.
Characteristics of Opinion:
Cannot be confirmed
Open to interpretation
Based on emotions
Inherently biased
SUMMARY OF TERMS:
OPINIONS are statements of judgment that are in need of further justification.
CONCLUSION- Judgment based on certain facts; could still be contested or questioned.
BELIEFS- Statements that express convictions that are not easily and clearly explained by facts.
EXPLANATIONS- statements that assume the claim to be true and provide reasons why statement is true.