belief, knowledge, and truth
TRANSCRIPT
Belief, Knowledge, and Truth
Harmony UU, February 2017
Things that are true
Things that you believe
Things you
know
JustifiedTrue Belief
Justified True
Believed
Knowledge
True belief by accident
Something believed for untrue reasons
Ignorance?
Athe
istTh
eist
GnosticAgnostic
Gnostic atheistAgnostic atheist
Agnostic theist Gnostic theist
• Does not believe any gods exist.
• Claims to know no gods exist.
• Believes a god(s) exist.• Claims to know god(s) exist.
• Does not believe any gods exist.
• Does not claim to know no gods exist.
• Believes a god(s) exist.• Does not claim to know
god(s) exist.
A-fa
iryist
Fairy
ist
GnosticAgnostic
Gnostic afairyistAgnostic afairyist
Agnostic fairyist Gnostic fairyist
• Does not believe fairies exist.• Claims to know no fairies exist.
• Believes fairies exist.• Claims to know fairies exist.
• Does not believe fairies exist.• Does not claim to know no fairies exist.
• Believes fairest exist.• Does not claim to know fairies exist.
BHL Lawfirm
Guides to Truth
• Common sense• Revelation• Faith• Experience and Reason
Common Sense
Common Sense
Revelation
Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.”
Faith
Reason
[8-bit philosophy; Nietzche Mega Man]
Action Items
• Think about what you “know”.
• Consider the sources– think about what you count as “justification”.
• Understand “burden of proof”. The time to believe something is when you have sufficient evidence, and not before.
Questions1. Do you care if what you believe is true or not? 2. In terms of justified true belief, where do opinions fall?3. Do we choose what we believe? 4. Pick a sticky topic. If we “agree to disagree”, can we instead “agree
to investigate the available evidence”? (And if not, check your answer to #1 again).
5. If faith is a virtue, how could you go about proving it without resorting to evidence?
6. Have you ever wanted to go back in time and change something? How do you know you haven’t?
7. It has been said that “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth”. Do you agree?
Closing quote
If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.
-Rene Descartes