Re: Empirical Beliefs & Hypothesis; Do they terminate in some beliefs that need no further justification, go on infinitely - on belief being justified by other that then need justification, or circle back upon itself in some way - constituting a sort o
Bookmark this page:
 Yahoo!
 Google
 Windows Live
 del.icio.us
 digg
 Netscape
|
|
Posted by Sir Frederick on August 21, 2008, 2:27 pm
Please log in for more thread options wrote: >> A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all
>> evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent >> on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. >> Empirical data are data that are produced by experiment or >> observation. >> >> "Empirical" as an adjective or adverb is used in conjunction with both >> the natural and social sciences, and refers to the use of working >> hypotheses that are testable using observation or experiment. In this >> sense of the word, scientific statements are subject to and derived >> from our experiences or observations. >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical >> >> 1. Suppose, that there are basic empirical beliefs, that is, emperical >> beliefs (a) which are epistemically justified, and (b) whose >> justification does not depend on that of any further emperical >> beliefs. >> >> 2. For a belief to be episemically justified requires that there be a >> reason why it is likely to be true. >> >> 3. A belief is justified for a person only if he is in cognitive >> possession of such a reason. >> >> 4. A person is in cognitive possession of such a reason only if he >> believes with justification the premises from which it follows that >> the belief is likely to be true. >> >> 5. The premises of such a justifying argument must include at least >> one empirical premise. >> >> 6. So, the justification of a supposed basic empirical belief depends >> on the justification of at least one other empirical belief, >> contradicting 1. >> >> 7. So, there can be no basic empirical beliefs. >> >> This seems to eliminate the possibility of emperical justification of >> any and all emperical beliefs. But it can lead to this untruthfullness >> of human beliefs in three ways which deal with the apparent "regress" >> of one belief depending upon another which depends upon another and so >> on: >> >> If the regress of emperical justification does not terminate in basic >> emperical beliefs, then it must either: >> >> (1) terminate in unjustified beleifs >> >> (2) go on infinitely (without circularity) >> >> (3) circle back upon itself in some way. >
>The argument goes astray with #4. If I perceive a red apple, then I believe >the apple perceived is red. That belief is not a conclusion derived from >any premises, but from the percept itself. Empirical beliefs are self- >justifying; I cannot doubt that I am perceiving something red in the shape >of an apple. I may well have doubts about what causes that percept, but I >cannot doubt that I have it. What may be causing it is another question. What if you know you have a brain tumor that is causing you to perceive things as red, though you "believe" them to be green? | ||||
|
Posted by Publius on August 21, 2008, 2:40 pm
Please log in for more thread options >>The argument goes astray with #4. If I perceive a red apple, then I
>>believe the apple perceived is red. That belief is not a conclusion >>derived from any premises, but from the percept itself. Empirical >>beliefs are self- justifying; I cannot doubt that I am perceiving >>something red in the shape of an apple. I may well have doubts about >>what causes that percept, but I cannot doubt that I have it. What may >>be causing it is another question. > What if you know you have a brain tumor that is causing you to
> perceive things as red, though you "believe" them to be green? I still cannot doubt that I am perceiving a red apple. Believing I am now perceiving red, and also that what I now I perceive as red might appear as green in other circumstances, are two different beliefs. Both are empirical beliefs, however --- the second resting on my memory of previous percepts. | ||||
|
Posted by nada on August 21, 2008, 3:19 pm
Please log in for more thread options
Roll back the subject header! | ||||
>