On Certainty Part II

* Update* Related article (not written by me)

http://www.learning-mind.com/10-mind-blowing-theories-that-will-change-your-perception-of-the-world/

Following directly from my last post, I can be certain of at least two things:

1) Everything that we think (ideas) or experience (what we perceive) exists to some capacity.
2) There's no way of knowing the exact (or type of) capacity. (perhaps everything is pure idea)

The computer screen in front of me exists to some extent. Is it a material object that exists objectively, outside my thoughts and perceivances or is it just an idea? I don't know, but it certainly exists!
Okay, I think I can lump this idea into one bullet point: Everything we think of, experience, or perceive exists - but there is no way of knowing to what capacity.

That is a pretty general statement, but it is also pretty solid (in my opinion) in terms of certainty.
So what else can you be certain of? I have provided one thing that I believe to be certain. Descartes was a foundationalist; in essence his whole philosophy was built upon his first meditations - his basic 'foundation' was that since he thinks, he exists. This is the first conclusion he came to - therefore that was his foundation. What I did was similar, but I don't know if I would call it a foundation. In any case, if we can think of anything else we can be certain of, everything must agree and not be contradictory.

The first thing that came to mind is human feelings. Right now I feel happy. Am I certain I feel happy? How the heck could I not be certain that feel happy? I suppose we could follow from our first certainty conclusion. To feel happy is to experience joy. The joy necessarily exists to some extent, to some capacity. The joy exists since we experience it, therefore we feel happy. It is certain!

Even if there is an 'evil god' or 'evil genius' controlling our thoughts in a way that makes us feel happy, but we really aren't. We experience happiness nonetheless. Therefor we are certainly happy at that instant! Let's add it to the list.

1) Everything we think of, experience, or perceive exists - but there is no way of knowing to what capacity.
2) Emotional feelings are certain at the instant they are felt.

You may be thinking that we could just modify 1) to include 2) saying that whatever we experience exists and is certain, but we can't say this! We have to be careful.

TBC ......

On Certainty Part I

I no longer know what I believe. I think it is time to start over (again). Does this sound familiar? René Descartes did something similar in the 1600s. I think it is a good idea to look at yourself and your beliefs once in a while to reevaluate what you think you know. It might seem (at least to myself) that I know quite a lot. But actually, I know very little - perhaps even nothing!

Do I possess the intellect or moral capactiy to judge an objective right from an objective wrong? No.

Do objective right and wrongs even exist? (I don't think so)

Do I know for sure that the sun will rise tomorrow? No. It hasn't happened yet!

Do I know that I will die? No! I cannot predict the future! (You hear all time that 'death and taxes are certain'. Surely you can imagine that tomorrow science will provide a breakthrough allowing our lifespans to exist forever. And taxes? What if I remove myself from society and lose myself in the wilderness?)

It's perhaps even possible that I don't know that a week from now, 2 + 2 will no longer be 4! It might be 9! Indeed I might be just something that is being brain washed or mentally controlled by an 'evil genius' as René Descartes would say, or perhaps an evil god!

I once thought science was safe. Now mathematics is no longer safe... what about pure logic? Perhaps all my thoughts are controlled by something else and what I think is logical actually isn't...(completely objectively without any sort of evil god).

I am lost! I have no ground to stand on. I am floating among clouds of uncertainty...am I happy? Perhaps.. Am I nervous or uneasy? Perhaps..

Wait a minute. This writing. These thoughts. They exist. To some extent they exist. If I am just a computer simulation, it still exists. The evil god might be fooling me into believing  that these things exist, but even if that is true the 'fake' things exist to some extent, even if they only exist as ideas. If none of this existed, it would not occur at all.

So I am certain of something! I am jubilant! What am I certain of? Descartes is popular for the saying, 'I think, I exist' as in 'I think therefore I am' or 'I think therefore I exist'. I think I can go a bit further in my certainty than even this! Everything that I experience exists! Descartes refers to the 'I' that necessarily exists. The I in this case is the producer of the thoughts, the 'thinking thing'. Okay, I can agree with that. But what about everything else? This text on the screen, the walls of this building, my fingers pressing buttons. All those things exist as well to some capacity. It all exists, but I am unsure of the capacity. No matter how much I think about it, there's no way to know the capacity to which things exist.

So there you have it. I can be certain of at least two things:

1) Everything we think or experience exists to some capacity.
2) There is no way of knowing the exact (or type of) capacity (perhaps everything is pure idea).

How then shall we proceed to live our lives and attain 'knowledge' if these two things are really the only certainties? Well, we must make assumptions unfortunately. Many of my previous posts made claims of certainty based on big assumptions. It is likely that my future posts will as well, but from now on I will be aware (and will probably mention) that I am reasoning based on an initial assumption.

For example, logic can not exist with the possibility that a nefarious being is controlling our thoughts. But if we eliminate that possibility, we may proceed.

Are there more than 2? Maybe!