Arguments and Evidence 2.0

H2KnowledgeandInquiryArgumentsandEvidence Adaptedfrom by@niuniuclubCopy of Arguments and Evidence GENERALEPISTEMOLOGY Argument Example Criteriafor“Good”Knowledge Scope “Allbachelorsareunmarried”● Wemightknowthat“allbachelorsareunmarried”withcompletecertainty—butsuchtautologiesseemtohavelessepistemicvalue,becausetheydon’ttellusanythingnew:ifweknewwhatabachelorwas,wewouldalreadyknowthisanalytictruththatallbachelorsareunmarried! Usefulness WilliamJames’Pragmatism● Weseemtovalueknowledgeovermerebeliefsbecauseitseemstobeusefulorprofitableinourlives—wewanttoknowwhetheritis7amratherthanjustbelieveittobethecase,sowecanaccuratelydecidewhetherwehavetimetoeatbreakfastwithoutbeinglateforwork!● That’swhysomescholarslikeWilliamJameshaveevendefinedtruthaspragmatism! Certainty,tobeuseful Pythagoras’Theorem● Thismathematicaltheoremhasalotofepistemicandpragmaticvalue,becausewehavedeductivelyderiveditfromEuclid’saxioms—thisiscertain,withnopossibilityoferror!● Thiscertaintyallowsustoapplyittoallright-angledtriangles,withoutworryingthatitwillgiveusafalseresult—itisuseful,bothinoureverydaylivesandalsointheconstructionofnewknowledgeingeometry. Reliability,tobeuseful Gamblerandtheroulettewheel● Thegambler’sbeliefthattheballwillnextlandonredisnotuseful,becauseitisnotderivedbyareliableprocess—hewillonedaybewrong! V=IR● Thislawinphysicshasalotofutilitybecauseitisreliable—wehaveverifiedthroughmanyexperimentsthatmultiplyingthecurrentandresistancedoesindeedgiveusthevoltage,allowingustosafelyusethatequationtodesigncircuitsandelectronicdevices.GoldenCross- Since1950,theS&P500hasexperienced36differentgoldencrosses.About80%ofthetime,stocksarehigherayearlater,withanaveragereturnofabout10%. Objectivity/Universality,tobeuseful Moralknowledge● Thereasonphilosopherscontinuetosearchforobjectiveanduniversalmoralknowledge—suchasKant’sattemptstoformulateaCategoricalImperative

—isbecausesuchobjectivityanduniversalitywouldmakemoralknowledgeparticularlyusefulinguidingourbehaviour,sincewewouldhaverulesandprincipleswecouldapplyinallinstances.Infact,wewouldbeabletoeradicateallmoraldisagreement!○ "Actasifthemaximofyouractionweretobecomethroughyourwillauniversallawofnature." Coherent,tobeuseful RiseofHitler● EvenifwecouldobjectivelydiscoverallthefactsrelatingtoHitler’sriseandlistobjectivelyallthereasonsforhisrisetopower,thiswouldbeoflittlevaluetous:itwouldbeameaninglesscompilationoffactsthatdonotfitintoa‘coherent’narrativethat‘makessense’tous.Hence,historywillhavefailedinitsdesiretohelpusunderstandthepastandlearnfromit!● ByattributingHitler’srisetopowertothepopularappealofhisfascistideology,evenifitneglectsothercauseslikeJewisheconomicprivilegeortheroleofpropaganda,ittellsusafarmoreusefulinsightintoourpastthatwecanlearnfrom:thatweneedtopurgesuchnoxiousideologiesfromcivildiscourse! TypesofKnowledge Propositional/Know-that 知道 “Themanisspoutingnonsense”● Propositionalknowledgecanbeexpressedin“that”clauses:“thatthemanisspoutingnonsense”,forinstance.● Itcanbeclearlytrueorfalse! Practical/Know-how “Ik