DAY 58 - Ethics Philosophers

Today in my absence please read and take notes on pp. 242 - 259 of the text.

:-)

DAY 57 - Ethics in Your Own Life

We broke into six small groups and each group wrote up and presented a list of five examples of these ways of demonstrating what most would consider Ethical behaviour in a modern country like Canada.

The groups are:
Caring
Fairness
Respect
Responsibility
Trustworthiness
Citizenship

Then we posted these at the front and spoke about them for a brief time coming to the conclusion that a "good" person in the 21st century should exhibit many or most of these qualities....

Watch this video from the 30 second mark - Immanuel Kant in Three Minutes.

Sophie's Choice - is this a moral choice?  Who are the moral agents in the scene?

Personal Moral Choices and YOU !!

DAY 55- (April 28) Ethics, Here We Come!

Where do we begin?

We can now begin our study of Ethics.  Everyone is familiar with Ethics and by the time you're finished this unit you will

be the most ethical person ever - Epistemologically speaking, anyways . . . haha.

Here is a short video on Animal Rights and Vegetarianism and then I'd like you to take this one question Poll Anywhere questionnaire.

Oh, and by the way, here's an image to consider . . . 

1.  Is there such a thing as a selfless act?  Phoebe

2.  Small group discussions:

  Are Moral Choices Possible?

  Why Do the Right Thing?

  Can People Be Good Without a Common Idea of Good?

  How Should the Rightness or Wrongness of Actions Be Determined?

3.  Ethics Vocab List:

Vocabulary for Ethics

Humanism

An approach that emphasizes the human or secular (non-religious)realm over the religious or spiritual realm.

Examples of  Humanism include:

• 
  
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• The statue of David by Michelangelo shows the human form alone, unadorned and without other people or objects.  

• The drawing labeled "Vitruvian Man" by Leonardo Da Vinci symbolizes the ideal human body, geometry, and human potential. 

• "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare includes introspection, self awareness and musings about mankind.

• The United Nations and UNESCO promote human rights, education, peace and social progress.

• Secular and religious views of the world are compared in Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses.

• The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, shows the artist’s appreciation of the human form, especially in the depiction of Adam, who is painted nude.

• Democracy is an example of humanism because it gives control of a country to the individual citizens.

• The human condition and consequences of personal choices can be seen in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
• Prometheus of Greek mythology was defiant and stole fire from the gods for humans to use. 
• John Milton’s Paradise Lost deals with the dignity of man, his freedom of choice and his internal struggles.
• "Star Trek," a television series created by Gene Roddenberry, shows man’s search for knowledge and respect for all cultures.
• Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows humanism when Huck treats the slave, Jim, as a human being, and recognizes his worth.
• Humanism in psychology is shown with a positive approach to the behavior of humans which emphasizes nobility and the ability for self-growth through personal experiences and self-awareness.
• Niccolo Machiavelli, who penned The Prince, addressed the idea that people should be responsible for their actions, they have a role in their own destiny and they should not blame God for everything. 
• The advancement of science was facilitated by Francis Bacon, who invented the modern scientific method.

Theories of action

Theories that deal with how people should act.

Theories of character (virtue theories)

Theories that deal with questions about character traits that are morally good and morally bad.

Theories of value

Theories that deal with questions about the things people value.

Moral Agent

Someone who is capable of thinking about a moral problem, making a decision how to act, and taking responsibility for this action.

Divine Command Theory

Right and wrong are defined by the commands of the supreme being.

Divine Command Ethicists

A person whose actions are defined by the commands of the supreme being.

Utilitarianism (Developed by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham)

Morally good choices are those that result in the greatest good (amount of happiness) for the greatest number of people.

Kantian Ethicists

Believe that moral choices must be judged, not by their consequences, but by the good will of the moral agent.

Egoists

Believe that people should act in their own interest.

Intuitionists

Believe that truths, and therefore morals, are understood by intuition (an experience that is independent of reasoning).

Objective

Knowledge that is supported by evidence.

Subjective

Opinions that depend on personal feelings, experience, or thought.

5.  Read and take notes on pp. 242 - 259 of the text.

DAY 42++ Epistemology Film Review - Wag the Dog

Epistemology Film Review Assignment

Film Review Marking Sheet

DAY 41 ++ Does the Truth Matter?

We have to live today by what truth we can get today, and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.

William James (1842 - 1910)

A jury is comprised of a set of selected citizens whose job is to determine the guilt or non-guilt of an offender in question. Juries play a pivotal role in permitting democracy to flourish, since a trial by peers is requisite to avoid unfair deliberations or punishments.

But are jurors valid truth tellers? After all, you no doubt read about or have heard of instances were jurors came back with a seemingly unjustifiable verdict.

Were the jurors mislead or mistaken? Is there a difference if the outcome is already decided?

1. Meh (A multi-purpose response, primarily used to imply a degree of indifference).

Have you ever been in a class and watched the clock move backwards? Why was that? Were you bored? Have something better to do? Not interested? Didn't care?

Sometimes, learning isn't fun. And knowledge is not enough of an incentive to encourage us to try. But does that mean that the truth doesn't matter? For that matter, is the truth even attainable?

2. Absolute vs. Relative Truth

Have you ever had someone tell you couldn't do something? When asked 'why?', was their answer 'because I said so'? How did you react?

Well, depending on your age, you may have reacted with anything from a tantrum to contemplation (which, by the way, is called a continuum, but more on that later). From your perspective (and depending on your age), the answer was either unquestionable or negotiable. This, then, reflects the difference between absolute and relative truth. That is, absolute truth means that there is only one possible answer, whereas relative truth suggests and permits variation as fits the observer and audience.

For example, the question 'what is 2+2?' has an absolute answer = 4. However, the answer to the question 'why is math important?' varies widely. But can truth be called truth if it is relative? And if not, does absolute truth tell us anything important?

3. Nihilism

Nihilism popularly originated in Russia after Ivan Turgenev used it in his famous novel Fathers and Sons. However, nihilism is more often associated with Germany, especially the philosopher Nietzsche. Nietzsche argued that true knowledge was impossible to attain since we are varied and destructive beings.

In essence, Nietzsche had little faith in humanity's ability to circumvent the problems of its own creation, and so true knowledge was impossible to gain.

Not surprisingly, unlike Pyrrho and Sextus nihilists do not believe in Ataraxia!

But is a general distrust in the human spirit enough to extinguish the search for truth?

4. What's in a Name?

In ancient cultures, names held power. Indeed, the giving of your name often signified a deep seated trust, a named-based olive branch if you will, since to know someone's name was to have power over them. The name represented more than just your calling card - it was your identity. Even today, names are significant. For example, think back to the last time you had trouble pronouncing a name; did you attach any implications to this (whether positive or negative)? If so, what were they and where did they stem from? Or consider the ever-widening debate around online privacy. Why would anonymity matter then?

But does providing a name tell you anything about the person? Or is it merely a convenient label for summarizing the individual? If your name is Max or Plato, does that truly make a difference? Or is the difference only a result of how people treat you?

Truth carries with it the same connotations. Can you see how?

5. The Victors Write the History Books

Perhaps you have heard this phrase. If you haven't, the concept is simple: those who win wars (physical, mental, spiritual, etc) determine how history will remember the event. After all, what is the difference between a revolution and a rebellion?

For that matter, which is the truth? And how can the absolute truth be known if one side is largely unaccounted for?

You have all heard of Leo Tolstoy - a Russian author who wrote the monumental book, War and Peace.  Please read the first two pages of the 2nd Epilogue, Chapter IX (it's a rather long book so it will take a minute for Google Books to load up the whole book, and then you need to scroll to near the end to find the 2nd Epilogue, Chapter IX.  Click War & Peace to open it.  In this brief bit of writing Tolstoy makes the case for the notion that "The Victors write the History."  You will find several quotes in there that will help you to support that idea, at least from Tolstoy's perspective.

On a side note, I have read War & Peace on two different occasions - it's such a large novel that it came in two thick paperbacks.  I highly recommend that you make it a project of yours to get a copy and read it, it's worth the effort.

6. It is madness, yet there is method to it...

Speaking of labeling people, where did the label 'mad' come from? Today, people with mental disorders are often categorized as being abnormal, and may even be separated from society. Yet, in olden times, these same people would be categorized as having received a divine message from God. Why the change? Which is the truth?

Well, perhaps neither. Famed philosopher Michael Foucault, in his paper Madness and Civilization, outlines how our society moved from acceptance to isolation with regards to abnormality. He outlines how civilization's growing health and expansion encouraged a review of things different from the masses. With this, then, came the concept of normality, and then, necessarily too, abnormality. Soon abnormality was seen to oppose normality, and so was deemed dangerous.

So what does this mean for truth? Well, if a certain segment of the population is removed (whether physically or otherwise), then clearly their weltanschauung is not heeded. And if a portion of the public's viewpoint is omitted, can any decisions truly be said to reflect everyone's 'best interest'?

Did you know?

Witness testimony in a trial often determines a jury's verdict. That verdict, then, affects the defendant's life. Clearly, such a decision is important and considering that life imprisonment is an option, here truth must be evident.

But can it be? Many studies have shown that perception and bias impact an eye witness' knowledge of the event in question, especially when time delays are involved. Little details such as height, shirt colour, hour and location can have a huge impact on a trial.
So what does this mean for truth?

Eye Witness Testimony Concerns

7. Sometimes a Pipe Is Just a Pipe

Sigmund Freud is perhaps one of the best known psychiatrists. Indeed, he did much to label

and create modern day psychology.

In his practice of psychoanalysis, Freud delved deeply into the psyches of several patients. His goal was to determine the underlying cause for mental disorders, especially neurotic behaviour. He concluded that unconscious sexual desires played a large role in such illnesses.

However, Freud's subjects were all suffering from some sort of mental malady. So, can his theories, derived from such sources, be considered valid? In other words, is there any truth to them?

8. So, there's no point then?

No?   Yes?

You decide.

1. Madness and Civilization Overview
2. Freud: Scientist or Storyteller?

The Two-Brained Dinosaurs (who'd a thunk it?)

Empiricism and two-brained dinosaurs....

Had to include this poem from the late 1800s.  It was published when new "evidence" indicated that the Stegasauri family of dinosaurs had a second brain near the base of it's spine near the hip.  Much was made of this new discovery but it is now thought that the enlarged cavity did not contain a second brain.  We think that it contained excess nerves and fluids, likely glycogen, as a "battery backup" for bursts of energy, clearly for a purpose other than thinking!  How often do you see clear philosophical terms in poetry?

The Riddle Of The Dinosaur - Bert Taylor

Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his weight and length,
But for his intellectual strength.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains,
The one in his head, the usual place,
The other at his spinal base.
Thus he could reason a priori
As well as a posteriori.
No problem bothered him a bit,
He made both head and tail of it.
So wise he was
So wise and solemn
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure strong,
It passed a few ideas along.
It something slipped the forward mind
’Twas rescued by the one behind.
And if in error he was caught
He had a saving afterthought.
As he thought twice before he spoke
He had no judgment to revoke.
For he could think without congestion
Upon both sides of every question.
O gaze upon this noble beast,
Defunct ten million years at least.

DAY 40 (April 9) Empiricism

Empiricism

No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.  

John Locke (1632-1704)

Can you imagine plummeting from the sky at 300 km/hr? What would you experience? The wind tearing through your hair. Your friends screaming in your ears. And of course, the sight of the earth growing steadily closer would be a key component of the experience.

Rationalists might suggest you close your eyes and imagine the sensations, but can that really compare to actually experiencing it? As you will discover, empiricists argue a clear "no!"

1. And Now For Something Completely Different...

Consider this ancient Chinese proverb: 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'.

So how do you teach a man to fish? Rationalists would, of course, argue that the man can simply close his eyes and rationalize his way toward understanding.

Empiricists, however, disagree. They would tell the man to go with someone who knows how to fish and practice the art.

After all, if you ask most people how they learn, they will probably tell you by experience. And this makes a lot of sense. Every day you go out into the world you are awash in sensations, some of which you attend to and some of which you do not. Nevertheless, when attended to, these sensations become experiences, and then, in turn, these experiences become knowledge. So, for empiricists, how you know something is through real-world experiences.

Key Empiricist Philosophers

Sophists     Aristotle     Aquinas     Bacon     Locke     Berkeley     Hume     Russell

Please check these links and take a note or two about each - if you can find a direct quote, even better!
In addition, please look at pp. 209 - 213 to look specifically at what some of these philosophers said and thought.

Sophistry!

Nowadays, saying someone is using a sophist argument is an insult (go ahead, try it); it suggests that the speaker is using persuasive techniques, rather than sound arguments and evidence, to sway the listener. No doubt you've seen evidence of this in your classes when homework assignments lie forgotten at home...

However, the original sophists were among the first Western empiricists. They denied rationalist arguments in favour of concrete experiences. Of course, given their 'pay-for-say' outlook this is not surprising. After all, people have a much more emotional connection to experiences than to rationalized thought experiments.

If you want to learn more about the Sophists, click here to read Plato's dialogue entitled "Sophist". Be forewarned, Plato was NOT a fan of the Sophists!

2. A Blank Slate

Perhaps you have heard of this term before. What do you think it means? Well, if you're an empiricist, it is a central cornerstone to your theory of knowledge. Let's consider some of the famous statements made about it:

Aristotle

"What the mind thinks must be in it in the same sense as letters are on a tablet which bears no actual writing; this is just what happens in the case of the mind."

Aquinas

"But the human intellect, which is the lowest in the order of intellects and the most removed from the perfection of the Divine intellect, is in potency with regard to things intelligible, and is at first "like a clean tablet on which nothing is written", as the Philosopher [Aristotle] says."

Locke

"Men, barely by the use of their natural faculties, may attain to all the knowledge they have, without the help of any innate impressions, and may arrive at certainty without any such original notions or principles."

Basically, Empiricists say that you are born with a practically empty mind (practically, since most philosophers argue an awareness of God pre-exists) upon which all of your experiences and sensations write your memories, and thus knowledge. You are not born knowing anything. It is what you do that makes you who you are. If this is true, then rationalists must necessarily rely on experience to fuel their inward reflections.

However, this runs contrary to some basic understandings of human nature. Babies, for example, are born knowing instinctively how to suck and grasp. Likewise, insects are born with enough genetic knowledge to be born, survive, thrive and spawn. In fact, psychologist Carl Jung went so far as to suggest humanity had a shared collective unconscious, whereby the memories of all our past ancestors were stored. How does this affect an empirical weltanschauung?

Did You Know?

Although our experiences provide a rich tapestry of memory to recall and enjoy, metaphysics forces you to wonder whether they are, in fact, real. And while the prospect of being a brain in a vat is distressing, it cannot be fully discounted.

However, you need not go to science fiction movies for this. In the 1930s, Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield's experiments with open brain surgery on seizure victims resulted in vivid sensation stimulus recalls by only stimulating parts of brain tissue.

The famous cry "I smell burnt toast!" occurred when Ms. Phoebe Stanley's brain was exposed and probed by Dr. Penfield. This helped Penfield locate where our memories were stored in the brain.

Recreation video of Wilder Penfield's Experiment

3. Contemporary Applications

Have you ever wondered what you can "do" with philosophy (other than amuse and annoy your friends of course)? Well, empiricism is a great example of how philosophy and the "real world" intertwine.

Whether they refer to themselves this way or not, most scientists are empiricists. They rely on experiences to create, define and refine their theories. Likewise, lawyers, psychiatrists, mechanics and sports stars are also empiricists. Can you see how?

Resources to Consider

1. Empiricism Overview
2. Biology Vs. Blank Slate

DAY 39 (April 8) Rationalism (How Do You Know?)

The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.

Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986)

A good resource might be this Philosophy Text - find it in the upper right of the blog homepage.  Chapters 9, 10 & 11 deal with Epistemology.

Modern medical science has permitted people to look inside your brain and measure your very thoughts. Through magnetic resonance imagining, the secrets of the mind are finally laid bare.

Or are they? Can a machine see your thoughts, or, like hot breath on a cold day, merely hint at what is there?

Here's what these machines can see...

1. Be Rational...

You've probably heard (or used) the plea 'be rational'. Usually, this phrase invites people to pause and consider - often when their arguments are overly emotional. However, for philosophers, this phrase acts as a cornerstone for one of the two largest schools of thought - rationalism.

Rationalism is based on the premise that, through reason alone, you can understand necessary and significant truths about the universe and the self. To a rationalist, experiences may help focus your mind, but these experiences don't teach you anything.

Key Rationalist Philosophers

Click on each name to find out more about these famous philosophers' lives and works.

Plato             St. Augustine           Kant               Hegel
Spinoza        Leibniz                     Chomsky       Descartes

2. Use Your Imagination...

Here's another term you've probably heard; it is used to evoke creative ideas or unique perspectives. However, for philosophers, the imagination becomes a powerful tool in the search for truth. Indeed, the concept of a thought experiment itself uses your imagination to develop and evaluate hypothetical ideas. Remember: Einstein's theories of relativity didn't come from experimentation...they came from his imagination!

Characters like Barney over there helped to stimulate your imagination when you were young.

Did you know?

Have you ever gotten a headache from listening to other people complain about their headache?

If so, you may have suffered from a mild version of a psychosomatic illness; that is, a physical aliment brought on by a mental or emotional stimulus. Psychosomatic illnesses derive from the mind, but can manifest themselves physically. In other words, the mind shapes reality.

Another scientific example is the use of a placebo. A placebo occurs when a non-medical treatment is provided; this can either be without the subject's knowledge or with the subject incorrectly believing they are receiving the actual treatment. Placebos are used to test the degree of impact medicines and treatments have on patients.

However, there is also evidence that the placebo itself is enough to cause significant changes in a patient's mental or physical state (more commonly called the Placebo Effect). Again, this shows that belief alone is enough to alter reality. Can you recall the phantom limb syndrome? When a person who loses a limb sometimes they have the sensation, feeling or belief that their absent limb is still attached - a phantom limb.

1. History of Psychosomatic Illness
2. Latest Research on the Placebo Effect

But can your imagination show you truth? Certainly, some things you imagine are not true. For example, you can imagine a unicorn, but they aren't real. Or are they?

Well, according to Plato, yes. Or at least, the Form is. You see, Plato believed that the world consisted of two separate, yet related existences: the World of Becoming (material) and the World of Being (immaterial). In the World of Being, the Form of a horse is the perfect, ideal representation of it. This was never achievable in our material world, which is why there is variety, both real and unreal. However, for Plato the true Form does exist and is, in fact, more real than our material 'reflections'.

Another, more famous, example is that of a triangle. Try drawing a triangle. How does it look? Is it perfect? What is perfect? Wouldn't perfect mean that the lines were perfectly straight and had no thickness? Is that even possible?

Plato argued that it was not. Yet, he still held that the World of Being was real, if something we could not physically access.

3. Plato's Cave

Imagine being born in a cave, unable to move, facing away from the opening. What would you see? Well, if it was daytime, you would see shadows (from people, animals, clouds, trees, etc) move across the wall you're facing.

How would this alter your reality? What would be true to you? And would it indeed be true?


In Plato's Cave, the World of Becoming and World of Being are examined using the allegory of people who grow up knowing nothing but flickering shadows on a cave wall. For these 'prisoners' the cave wall represents their only connection with reality - a reality that is less real than our own reality. After all, even at an early age you knew your shadow was not real.

Yet, these flickering images on the cave's wall make up the sum total of all their knowledge about the world. Later philosophers have examined the impact this weltanschauung had on their personality, language, development, social structures, etc. However, Plato merely used these unfortunate captives as a metaphor for the World of Becoming. The truth, then, was represented by the sunlight pouring into the cave's mouth - the World of Being. Sadly, Plato believed that most people spent all of their time trapped in their own materialistic mindsets, and so could neither know nor imagine a world different from their own... Does this worldview sound like anything contemporary? (Hint: look below).

DAY 38 (April 7) So, What Do You Really Know?

I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.          Socrates (469 BCE - 399 BCE)

Knowledge Is Power

At a 2002 NATO press conference, in response to a question regarding the absent WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq, then Secretary of Defence for the US Donald Rumsfeld replied: "Now what is the message there? The message is that there are no "knowns." There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we don't know we don't know. So when we do the best we can and we pull all this information together, and we then say well that's basically what we see as the situation, that is really only the known 'knowns' and the known 'unknowns'. And each year, we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns."

Secretary Rumsfeld Press Conference at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium (June 6, 2002)

What does it mean to know something? Dictionary.com defines 'know' as:

1. To perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty: I know the situation fully.
2. To have established or fixed in the mind or memory: to know a poem by heart; Do you know the way to the park from here?
3. To be cognizant or aware of: I know it
4. Be acquainted with (a thing, place, person, etc.), as by sight, experience, or report: to know the mayor.
5. To understand from experience or attainment (usually fol. by how before an infinitive): to know how to make gingerbread.
6. To be able to distinguish, as one from another: to know right from wrong.
7. Archaic. to have sexual intercourse with.
8. To have knowledge or clear and certain perception, as of fact or truth.
9. To be cognizant or aware, as of some fact, circumstance, or occurrence; have information, as about something.
10. The fact or state of knowing; knowledge.

Of course, knowing something is different from knowing how to do something. And neither is necessarily easier than the other. In the next two activities, you will be examining the nature of knowledge from two competing perspectives: rationalism and empiricism. However, before you begin identifying what and how you know something, first you must determine what it is you know.

So what do you know?
To find out, try this experiment. Take 2 minutes and write out everything you know. Don't stop to think, just let the ideas flow freely. Use a watch to time yourself or if this is during class I'll time you.

So what did you write down? Was it a jumble of random information or was it on a single topic? Did you use any organizational scheme or simply jot down points linearly?

No matter how you wrote out your information, odds are you didn't manage to write everything you know. That's because you've collected a HUGE amount of information, and continue to add to that storehouse each and every day. In fact, at times it may seem like you know everything (or, at least, your parents might say that's what you think). Unfortunately, you can't. Sorry. Why not?

Well, the answer is simple: perspective.

You see, you see. But only you. You can't, for example, with all certainty see your friend's perspective. Sure, they can tell you what they know, think or feel, but how can you be absolutely sure you understand exactly what they mean?

As the image depicts, your knowledge may both be light, but your perspectives filter and change the outcome.

2. Flat Earth Society

Are you worried you might know too much? Have no fear (or any ideas for that matter)! The Flat Earth Society is here. Operating since the mid-eighteenth century, this group holds that the Earth is indeed flat - after all, when you look out your window does the Earth look round?

To learn more about the Flat Earth Society and its mission click on the link.

However, despite this rather eccentric group's outlook, the idea of a round Earth is a relatively recent conception. 500 years ago most people believed the Earth was flat, simply because both personal observations coupled with societal common sense told them it was. However, with advancements, experiments and revision came a new conclusion: the Earth was, in fact, round! No wonder Socrates suggested he knew nothing...after all, how long can you be certain your current knowledge will be correct?

Or, to quote Agent K from Men in Black,

"A thousand years ago everybody knew as a fact, that the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

End Scene of Men in Black.

How Well Do You Know Yourself?

There are thousands of personality tests available online that aim to unearth some hidden knowledge about who you are. Whether Freud's focus on sexuality or Skinner's suggestion that behaviour determines personality, the goal is the same: discovering what people have in common and who you are. Some psychological tests - such as the Rorschach inkblot test - have not stood the test of time. Indeed, many people give personality tests with the same credence as they would horoscopes.

Other tests, however, continue to emerge, and thousands of new psychology students enter the profession each year. What else could explain this but the drive to discover some hidden knowledge about ourselves?

So, why not try a personality test out for yourself? Click here to take a free personality test. This test is based off of Carl Jung's personality types, and is still widely used today. After taking the test, click here to find out a detailed analysis of your Myers-Brigg personality type.

Did you find that the test supplied you with any new knowledge about yourself? If so, what? If not, why not?

DAY 36- Epistemology - Socratic Discussions. What Do You Believe?

DAY 36- Epistemology - Socratic Discussions. What Do You Believe?

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.       Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

Thomas Paine proposed that "I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense...".

Sounds good right? 

People talk about common sense all the time. No doubt, someone has chastised you for not using common sense. But what is common sense exactly?

Common sense is a commonly shared (communal) understanding of an idea, issue or outcome. Its validity lasts as long as the group that espouses it continues to. When used and agreed upon, it confirms and supports the shared belief. Can you think of anything that you would call 'common sense'?

1. It's Common Sense

Einstein suggested that "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen". So is common sense a valuable source of knowledge? Well, that depends on how it is utilized. After all, it's common sense to avoid running into traffic without looking. But is that true knowledge? And does it matter?

Well, that too depends. On the surface, common sense doesn't appear too convincing as true knowledge. However, for thousands of years societies have relied on common (communal) sense to function. Over time, many of those aspects of common sense became codified into laws while others remained unwritten but known to all. The Kiriwina of New Guinea have a word - mokita - which means 'the truth which no one speaks'.

2. An Eye for an Eye

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest, written legal codes. Written in 1760 BC, it lists 282 laws. King Hammurabi purposefully inscribed the laws in stone to illustrate that they were now immutable and unchanging, and that even a King was bound to them.

However, most of the laws themselves are common sense transcriptions; however, to ensure their compliance, the punishment was often death.

3. "I'd Like a Second Opinion"

Philosophers rarely rely on opinion as knowledge. The reason for that is clear: opinions vary. For example, a teacher might believe your friend hates class because they sleep in, but you know they are tired because they need to work to support their family.

Yet, opinions are important; after all, they add variety to the human experience. When you visit a doctor, you can ask for a second opinion. Does this suggest the first doctor is wrong? Not necessarily, it is just that there could be other, better options available. This, then, demonstrates how knowledge and its application is a complex, difficult issue.

Nonetheless, opinions can also be suggestive, misleading or wrong.

Check out this Test of your Attention - How many times do the people in white shirts pass the basketball to each other????  Pay Attention - Passing the Basketball.

4. "Wikiality" and You

It's difficult to deny that Wikipedia has changed the way people access information. With a simple site and search, millions of articles become immediately accessible. When was the last time you wrote a research paper without using Wikipedia? As far as ease of use goes, Wikipedia works!

But can you trust Wikipedia? Did you know that it is flawed? You may, in fact, be reading and perpetuating tainted common sense! You see, Wikipedia is an open source encyclopedia; in other words, anyone can edit and alter articles. In most cases, this is a good thing since it allows for experts around the world to conveniently share information.

Unfortunately, not everyone holds to these ideals. Since Wikipedia is open source, information ranging from small mistakes to outright lies have been posted.

If you still have your doubts consider:
After introducing the word 'wikiality', Steven Colbert encouraged viewers to edit Wikipedia to report that the number of African elephants has tripled in the last six months. And the information was revised in accordance with this incorrect trivial information.  Click here for Colbert's Ideas.

Can You Trust Wikiality?
Seigenthaler incident,

4. Opinions vs. Beliefs

Philosophically, Epistemologists are more willing to accept beliefs over opinions. Unfortunately, for many people the words are mere semantics. Statements of belief can be true or false, while statements of opinion (as you read above) cannot necessarily be slotted into true or false categories. However, justified true beliefs are often considered knowledge.

A justified true belief requires three conditions:

1. The statement is true;
2. You believe the statement is true;
3. You are justified in believing the statement is true.

For example, you could make a knowledge claim that marshmallows are soft if (if and only if):

1. Marshmallows are soft;
2. You believe marshmallows are soft;
3. You are justified in believing marshmallows are soft.

Required Reading

In his dialogues, Plato often explored the nature of knowledge. In his famous work Theaetetus, Plato had Socrates discuss whether knowledge from belief can be counted as true.   I want you to have a sense of what this work looks like, that it's a lengthy dialogue between two people and demonstrates the power of the Socratic Method.

Next go here and read a bit under each of the main headings.  This site discusses the meaning behind short passages of Theaetetus and is a great source for some worthy quotes for your note-taking for future reference!  Don't miss this opportunity!

Gettier Problem

Although the concept of justified true belief was accepted for centuries, in 1963 philosopher Edmund Gettier introduced a snag. Basically, he was able to show how someone could make a claim that fit the criteria for a justified true belief and yet still be wrong. Can you think of an example?

Click here to read Gettier's short but influential paper.

5. Truthiness

On his program, the "Steven Colbert Report", Steven Colbert drew attention to the common sense concerns that arise in a media-rich word. In the Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2006, truthiness is defined as:

1. "truth that comes from the gut, not books" (Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," October 2005),
2. "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true" (American Dialect Society, January 2006)"

Colbert's Report on Truthiness.

Truthiness is tearing apart our country, and I don't mean the argument over who came up with the word. I don't know whether it's a new thing, but it's certainly a current thing, in that it doesn't seem to matter what facts are. It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It's certainty.  What do You think?